By Benjamin Mallet
PARIS (Reuters) -The Netherlands won gold in the men's 3x3 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 3x3 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)
Most Popular
Comments / 0