On the floor of the Hoops Factory in Lille this weekend, the French world champions rubbed shoulders with a Latvian Olympic champion, Dutch European champions and the best scorer on the circuit last season. Very nice results to inaugurate the Pro League Hoops Factory 3×3, the first French 3×3 circuit at professional level (four stages in February and March).
The aim of this novelty: to continue to develop 3×3 on French territory and offer tough tournaments to French players, a guarantee of gaining experience and preparation before the 2024 Olympics, in a winter period without major international events.
“We are still in a development phase, not selection. This tournament allows you to take stock of everyone’s state of form, test combinations and see how the different building blocks of the collective fit together. »
Yann Julien, coach of the Bleues
Not yet qualified unlike their female counterparts, the men (whose World Tour season will begin in April), are actively preparing for the Olympic qualifying tournaments in May and June and have been treated to a very tough field (6 top teams 14 worldwide). “That was the goal, we wanted the best teams in Europe,” smiles Karim Souchu, coach of the Blues, whose next camp will bring together an expanded squad (with 3×3 rookies Axel Toupane and Lahaou Konaté) in Beauvais (20-25 FEBRUARY). In terms of work, this is what we need because casually, the TQO is in three months, it’s going really quickly. » “Obviously we are here to win, but we say it every time, the peak performance is targeted for May,” confirms Franck Séguéla, French number one and finalist on Sunday in Lille with 3×3 Paris, beaten by Amsterdam, 2nd of the 2023 World Tour.
For women (where there is no private circuit all year round, only the national team circuit in the summer, the Women’s Series), it was also the first tournament of the year, concluded with the blue victory the two 2022 world champions Marie-Eve Paget and Laetitia Guapo, accompanied by Jodie Cornélie (member of the Olympic preparation group) and Camille Droguet (Tarbes, LFB).
3×3 Paris, here with Paul Djoko in the center, reached the final in Lille. (A. Réau/The Team)
“We are still in a development phase, no selection,” recalls Yann Julien, coach of the Bleues. This tournament allows you to take stock of everyone’s state of form, test combinations and see how the different building blocks of the collective fit together. Until now, we’ve just had friendly tournaments, now we’re moving on to real competition. It allows us to play with a little pressure. » “We need to have tournaments like that,” adds Hortense Limouzin. We match a lot between us, we have friendly tournaments, scrimmages (practice matches), but here, it’s more official, in the tournament format. We need to work like it will be at the Olympics. »
Become the international meeting place at the start of the year
Despite a grandstand for spectators not ideally placed and a slightly slippery ground on the first day, the sporting level was there for this first stage of a tour whose total budget amounts to around 700,000 euros (136,000 euros of prize money), supported by the FFBB and communities. A significant new investment after creating the first men’s pro team (3×3 Paris) and allowing a group of 8 players to concentrate 100% on the discipline for a season (the Olympic preparation group). “With this circuit, we see the ambitions that the Fédé has for 3×3,” appreciates Laetitia Guapo, who is aiming for the Olympic podium after the frustrating 4th place in Tokyo. No other federation invests so much. I thank them for that, for helping us prepare for these Olympics in the best possible way. »
But beyond the Olympics, the idea is to perpetuate this tournament, to include it in the international calendar, for the next Olympics. “It’s a big investment by the Fed to perform well at the Olympics, to offer international players a real sporting opportunity and facilitate their preparation,” confirms Max Bresolin, deputy at the DTN. But it’s not a one-shot, we want to capitalize on all of this, to continue to structure and professionalize the sector. »
