This past weekend, two international competitions took over the atrium of Park Lake Shopping Center. The final stops of the Europe 3 (U21) conference on the FIBA 3×3 Nations League circuit and the 18th stop of the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series drew thousands of spectators around the court. Beyond the 3×3 basketball action, fans also got to enjoy a full outdoor urban sports festival, with activities for the whole family.
Another final for Rapid
The Women’s Series stop kicked off Saturday morning with the qualifying round, where Romania’s national team failed to advance. Yanjing and Belgium, the tournament’s big surprise, booked their spots in the main draw. Group play opened with tournament host Rapid taking the court. Having won their last two events, the Bucharest side was chasing a hat trick in front of their home crowd.
They started strong, picking up two group-stage wins and putting up 21 points in both games. Their main title rival, the Netherlands, matched that record, beating the Bucharest team 21-5 in group play. Romania’s other team on the main draw dropped both of its group games, falling to Austria 21-11 as well.
The knockout rounds took place on Sunday. Rapid opened with another clear win, 19-8 over Germany. Their first real test came in the semifinals against France, where Rapid pulled through 15-13, with Hortense Limouzin shining against her own compatriots by scoring 8 points.
On the other side of the bracket, the Netherlands eliminated Belgium, the qualifier surprise, 20-12 in the quarterfinals, then breezed past Beijing 21-9 in the semis.
The circuit’s top favorites and hottest teams met in the final: Rapid versus the Netherlands. Both had won their last two stops, so one winning streak was bound to end. The two sides had also met in the Amsterdam final, where the host team came out on top 20-14. This time, though, the trend didn’t hold, the Netherlands beat the Bucharest side 20-15. Noortje Driessen was named MVP after scoring 37 points total, including 8 in the final.
For Rapid, it was their fourth final of the season and their second loss, after Amsterdam. Still, it’s another strong result and an important step toward qualifying for the season-ending finals, set for September 5-6 in Shanghai.
France dominates the Nations League conference
The big winner of the Nations League conference was France. “Les Bleus” finished first in both the women’s and men’s divisions. The men won two of the three stops, which was enough to lock up first place even before the final day of competition.
On the women’s side, things were tighter, with Spain and France running neck and neck until the final seconds. Every final in this conference came down to a matchup between the two nations, and the last game decided who would finish on top. After losing Friday’s and Saturday’s finals, France came through on Sunday to secure first place.
Romania’s national teams failed to reach any of the three finals held this weekend. The men finished 4th in the conference standings with 365 points, 195 behind France. The women finished 3rd with 370 points, 190 behind France.
