3x3 basketball: the French women's team will be travelling to Tokyo!
The European champions won their ticket to Tokyo on Sunday, May 30, after their victory in the semi-finals of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Although the French women got off to a bad start with a defeat against the United States, this disappointment didn’t dampen their ambition as they racked up good results against Uruguay (20-9), Germany (21-12), Indonesia (18-6), and Hungary (18-17). In order to qualify, the only thing left for the European champions to achieve was a victory in the semi-final or, in the event of defeat, a victory in the third-place play-off. One match, against Japan (14-15), proved enough to ensure the qualification of the French women’s team. In Tokyo, the French players will again come up against the United States and Japan. As European champions, bronze medal-winners in the last World Cup, and winners of the Women's World Series in 2019, the French national women’s team will be among the favorites to win the competition.
French men’s team came so close…
Unfortunately, the French men's team didn’t perform quite so well and fell short of qualifying. Invincible during the pool matches with a precious victory over Slovenia (19-17), the French failed to win a third qualifying place against an aggressive and talented Latvian team (21-15).
A partner of the French Basketball Federation (FFBB) since the summer of 2014, the Caisse d'Epargne has also been sponsoring 3x3 basketball since 2019. This spectacular urban discipline will be making its début in the Tokyo Olympics this summer. To find out more about this up-and-coming sport and to discover Karim Souchu, coach of the French 3x3 basketball team, take a tour of the “Coaching experiences” section.