By Benjamin Mallet
The Netherlands won gold in the men’s 3×3 basketball by edging France 18-17 in overtime in the final at the Paris Olympics on Monday, just a few minutes after Germany had earned their first international title in the women’s tournament.
France were backed by a passionate crowd, but Worthy de Jong, instantly recognisable with his bleached blond hair, tied the score in the last seconds of regulation and sealed the title for the Dutch with a two-point, long-range shot in overtime.
“To end like this is amazing. These shots are how legends are made,” de Jong said.
“We came here with a goal and we made it. This is our canvass and like Picasso, we painted a masterpiece.”
On the women’s side, Germany beat Spain 17-16 after Sonja Greinacher hit a two-pointer that gave them a decisive lead with 30 seconds remaining at Place de la Concorde.
Greinacher had already scintillated in a back-and-forth semi-final contest against the Canada, delivering 11 points and five rebounds for a 16-15 win.
“We definitely wanted that gold medal,” Greinacher said after getting a congratulatory hug courtside from compatriot and 14-times NBA All-Star Dirk Nowitzki.
“I think we just wanted to enjoy our last game together as a group. That was the biggest goal of it all, to just enjoy.”
The men’s bronze went to Lithuania after they dispatched Tokyo gold medallists Latvia 21-18, who picked a bad day to suffer their only two losses of the tournament.
The United States, who won the women’s gold in Tokyo, prevailed over Canada 16-13 to claim bronze this time around, a consolation prize after losing 18-16 to Spain in overtime in the semi-finals.
“After we lost this morning and had our gold dream crushed, we were down,” said American Hailey van Lith.
“We were kind of feeling sorry for ourselves. It took a lot of mental toughness just to compete in this game,” she added.
In their bronze medal game, the United States had to rely on close one-point shots and five free throws to beat Canada’s Plouffe twins, Katherine and Michelle, the number one and number three-ranked players in the world.
The Americans had a difficult start to the tournament, losing their three opening pool games to Germany, Azerbaijan and Australia before finally finding their groove.
The Paris 3×3 tournament was even more complicated for the U.S. men’s team, who were making their Olympic debut with a revamped and unconventional squad after failing to qualify for Tokyo.
The Americans had to play four of their seven games without top-ranked player Jimmer Fredette, who was injured, and failed to break out of their pool.
France’s women, runners-up at the 2023 World Cup, were just as disappointing, finishing last in the pool phase behind Azerbaijan.
(Reporting by Benjamin Mallet; Editing by Clare Fallon and Bill Berkrot) (Source: REUTERS)
The post Basketball 3×3-Dutch men win gold over France, Germany women defeat Spain first appeared on Fastbreak.
0 comments: