22 Sept 2018
HYDERABAD (FIBA 3x3 U23 Nations League) - France won both men and women's categories in the second edition of the FIBA 3x3 U23 Nations League after the 2 final stops in Hyderabad, India on September 21-22, 2018.
In the women's category, France narrowly edged out China in the standings (720 tour points to 710 overall). 'Les Bleues' started their U23 Nations league campaign on a 13-game winning streak and won 5 of the 8 stages in which they participated. The pocket-sized Caroline Hériaud (5ft 5in, 1.65m) was named MVP of the competition.
China also won 5 stages, including the last one in Hyderabad against France in the final but their 3rd place in the other Indian leg cost them the title. Last year's winners Hungary won bronze.
In the men's category, a little déjà vu: France beat China to 1st place by a wider margin (740 to 700 tour points). MVP Charly Pontens led the team to 5 stage wins (out of 8). In fact, France played in the final of every single stop. France finished on a high, winning the last 2 events in Hyderabad.
China finished second despite winning 4 consecutive stops in the Africa and Asia conference before travelling to Hyderabad. Mongolia, who won the first stop at home back on June 1, took 3rd place.
The FIBA 3x3 U23 Nations League is a national team competition for men and women under the age of 23 and an ongoing opportunity for the future talents to hone their skills in preparation for the FIBA 3x3 World Cup, multi-sport games and the Olympic Games.
France succeed to Hungary's women and Slovenia's men. The 2nd edition of the U23 Nations League brought together a total of 31 teams from 14 countries, playing in 14 different stops over a period of 4 months.
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ABOUT FIBA 3x3
Exciting, urban and innovative, 3x3 is inspired by several forms of streetball played worldwide and is considered the world’s number one urban team sport. Steered by FIBA, games see two teams of three players face off on a basketball half-court.
It was played successfully for the first time in international competition at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and since then has benefited from the launch of a yearly city-based FIBA 3x3 World Tour (www.fiba.basketball/3x3worldtour) and national-team FIBA 3x3 World & Continental Cups. On June 9, 2017, 3x3 was added to the Olympic Program, starting from the Tokyo 2020 Games.
For further information about 3x3, visit FIBA3x3.basketball, FIBA 3x3 accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Sina Weibo, Tencent, Twitter, Youku and YouTube or contact 3x3@fiba.com.