The 3×3 field heading to Paris, France, is starting to take shape.
The Paris 2024 3×3 Olympic Games Second Qualifier took place in Utsunomiya, Japan, from March 3-5 to determine the winners of the two tickets to the Games. The Netherlands took home the men’s and Australia’s tickets to Paris.
After two days of qualifying on March 3 and 4, the men’s and women’s 3×3 second qualifying rounds for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games were completed. A total of 16 teams, eight men’s and eight women’s, competed in the event, with only the winners of each category earning a ticket to the 메이저 토토사이트 Olympic Games.
The first team to punch their ticket to Paris was the Australian women’s team. The Aussies are the reigning Asian women’s 3×3 champions, having recently won the 3×3 Asia Cup for the second year in a row.
After topping Pool B in qualification, the Aussies defeated Brazil 18-16 in the quarterfinals to meet Canada in the final to decide their Olympic ticket. On paper, the odds were in favor of Canada, whose twin sisters, Catherine and Michelle Plouffe, are ranked first and second in the FIBA 3×3 individual rankings.
However, the match was unexpectedly close. Neither team was able to put anyone ahead for long, as both teams were dominated by nasty two-pointers. In the final minutes, Australia’s focus paid off. With a 17-16 lead and 33 seconds left in regulation, Alex Wilson capitalized on a foul to draw free throws and hit both to seal the game.
In the end, Australia held off Canada to punch their ticket to Paris.
The second team to punch their ticket to Paris was the Netherlands men’s 3×3 team.
The Dutch, who were drawn in Pool A alongside the tournament favorites Lithuania and Puerto Rico, swept their three preliminary round games behind the insane performance of ace Walsh Dejong, the No. 3 individual player in the FIBA 3×3 rankings, to reach the quarterfinals, where they easily defeated Mongolia 21-11. In the final, they met European powerhouse Lithuania in the Olympic ticket decider.
Coming into the tournament as the FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup 2023 champions, Lithuania is one of the two powerhouses on the world 3×3 stage alongside Serbia. Lithuania’s dominance was expected, but the Netherlands proved once again that their success in the qualifiers was not for nothing.
While ace Dejong was a lesser presence in the final than he was in the preliminary round, 202-centimeter big man Jan Drissen and shooter Irvin Slagter led the team’s offense, providing a heavy presence under the basket and on the perimeter, respectively. The game-winner came with five minutes left in regulation. Slagter’s two-pointer and Driessen’s power play, followed by a three-pointer from Demeo Vander Hosts, extended the lead to more than six points and eventually punching their ticket to Paris with a 19-15 victory over Lithuania.
Among the Asian nations, host Japan and Mongolia were represented at the event. Japan, which fielded two men’s and two women’s teams, failed to break through the qualification barrier for both men and women. Mongolia, Asia’s strongest men’s 3×3 team, reached the quarterfinals but lost to eventual champions the Netherlands and failed to qualify for Paris.
Serbia, USA, China, Latvia and the Netherlands (men) and China, USA, France, Azerbaijan and Australia (women) have now qualified for the 16-team 3×3 competition at Paris 2024, which will feature eight men’s and eight women’s teams.
The six remaining tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympic 3×3 Games will be awarded to three men’s and three women’s teams at the third 3×3 Qualifier, which will take place from May 16-19 in Debrecen, Hungary.
Meanwhile, Walsy DeJong (Netherlands, Men) and Annelie Malay (Australia, Women) were named MVPs of the tournament.