Lithuanian and Dutch 3×3 basketball teams | Photo: FIBA
Closed today in the Japanese city of Ukonomiya the second qualification tournament of the Paris Olympic Games in 3×3 basketball. The ticket to the Olympics was won by the Dutch 3×3 team, which beat Lithuania 19:15 in the decisive match.
This was already the second mutual duel between the teams – as both national teams started the tournament with two victories, the second-seeded Netherlands celebrated a 21:18 victory over the first-seeded Lithuanians in the last game of the group. In the semifinals, the Netherlands defeated Mongolia with 21:11, and Lithuania beat France with 21:15.
In the final game, Lithuania managed to take the lead with 3:2, and although the Dutch managed to make a small breakthrough and reach 8:4, the Lithuanians did not give up and not only restored the balance on the scoreboard, but managed to take the lead (10:9). As both teams exchanged some successful attacks, Arvin Slater took the initiative in the Dutch team, who hit two long shots and achieved +3 (14:11).
At the end, the Dutch “torn” the Lithuanian defense with their passes, being ahead with 18:12 with a minute and a half to the end of the game. Lithuania could no longer escape from such a situation, which allowed the Netherlands to rejoice.
Thus, the Dutch 3×3 national team has become the fifth of the eight participants of the Paris OS. It should be reminded that with the help of the ranking, Serbia, the USA and China already secured a place in the biggest competition of the quadrennial. but in April, Latvian basketball players won the ticket to the OS in the first qualifying tournament.
The final qualifying tournament will take place in the Hungarian city of Debrecen from May 16 to 19, with three teams earning places in the Olympic Games.
🇳🇱 Netherlands are going to the Paris 2024 Olympics! 🎟️🙌#3x3OQT | @Basketball_NED | @3x3NL pic.twitter.com/hmF7wn7RxE
— FIBA3x3 (@FIBA3x3) May 5, 2024