French 3×3 basketball makes a name for itself

The French 3×3 basketball team, supported by Caisse d’Epargne, made a strong impression at the Olympic Games, winning a silver medal and popularizing this extremely spectacular sport.

A tailor-made setting for an incredibly intense sport

Time was almost up; only a few seconds of the match remained, the time to hold your breath and the French 3×3 basketball team would have been crowned Olympic champions in a venue just a few meters from the Obelisk – Paris’ very own ‘Cleopatra’s needle’ – standing in the middle of the majestic Place de la Concorde. And then that Dutch player took an incredible shot, sank the ball in the basket and put the French team behind! The French had played a perfect, an almost perfect, final. So when it was time to distribute the medals, the crowd sang an a capella version of the Marseillaise in their honor.

Although it wasn’t the official podium anthem for the Olympic champions, it was worthy of one or, at least, it expressed the emotion of what could have been. Lucas Dussoulier (28), Jules Rambaut (26), Franck Seguela (27), and Timothé Vergiat (26) will carry the memory of that Marseillaise with them for the rest of their lives. It’s so incredible what they achieved to get to this point, to these last few seconds, that they won’t feel bitter about falling short of winning the ultimate prize. A few minutes after the final, there were no more regrets, just the all-embracing happiness of a silver medal, of having completed such an incredible journey.

Back from the brink

This was one of the more inspiring stories of these Olympic Games Paris 2024 because, at the outset, very few people believed in their chances. For the players, their silver medals are all the sweeter because they know how far they had come, from a hard-fought Olympic qualification only obtained thanks to the kind of crazy turnarounds this 3×3 discipline is capable of offering.

At the Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in May, the French team won their quarter-final against Germany at the buzzer, and went on to qualify for Paris 2024 in a “do-or-die” match against Mongolia, winning 21-20 thanks to a last-second basket scored by Timothé Vergiat.

And then there was the wonderful – yet so difficult! – journey in the Olympic competition proper, the kind of journey that rewards you with such a feeling of joy when you manage to overcome the pitfalls one by one thanks to the sheer grit of your team, their willpower and solidarity. Les Bleus went on to beat the Serbs, the reigning world champions, thanks, once again, to an incredible goal scored by Timothé Vergiat, followed by a win against the Latvians – the Olympic title-holders – in the semi-finals, before the final match against the Netherlands, which has now become the stuff of legend. Lucas Dussoulier, Jules Rambaut, Franck Seguela and Timothé Vergiat all left a deep impression on French emotions with their performance in an outstanding physical setting.

The French women’s team, comprised of Myriam Djekoundadé, Laëtitia Guapo, Hortense Limouzin, and Marie-Eve Paget and also supported by Caisse d’Epargne, unfortunately suffered a major disappointment, but this in no way calls into question their tremendous commitment. In any case, Laetitia Guapo will be taking home an Olympic medal… the one claimed by her partner, Franck Seguela!

It’s clear that the French basketball federation’s decision to invest in three-a-side basketball has paid off and will launch the discipline throughout France where several projects are currently underway. The French 3×3 basketball team has done much more than simply win a silver medal!

PouTo learn more about which athletes, para athletes, and teams supported by Groupe BPCE companies are present at Paris 2024: