Martin Lange, edited by Juliette Moreau Alvarez
This weekend is the Paris 3×3 Basketball Masters. For the brand new French men’s team, this is an opportunity to stand out but above all to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games. The basketball players intend to join the women’s team at the heights of this very intense discipline.
3×3 basketball arrives in Paris. It is played on a half court, where the two teams of three players share the same basket. The matches are short and only last ten minutes, but they are intense, with shots every twelve seconds. The objective of Saturday’s competition is qualification for the Paris Olympics.
“It’s much more spectacular”
This very intense reduced format is increasingly appealing according to the coach of the France team Karim Souchu: “Something happens every twelve seconds, so it’s much more spectacular! Afterwards, there is also the notion of contact which is much more impressive than on the 5×5. So it’s a bit of a show.” This summer, Paris launched its first pro team, Paris 3×3. Six players are under federal contract: no more round trips to the club, now the focus will remain 100% on the 3×3.
The Paris Masters this weekend is a first step for this team, which intends to qualify for Paris 2024. Unexpected for these former second or third division players like Franck Seguela: “It’s a childhood dream, especially since we are more from the Pro B National 1 levels so necessarily at 5×5 we more or less said to ourselves that we would never do the Olympics and there, it’s a golden opportunity, “he explains. full of motivation. It is also an opportunity to accompany the girls, the queens of the discipline, since they are world champions and European champions in title.