I don’t have all the experience of the guys but from what I have been able to understand and learn, in 3×3, the emotions are increased tenfold. You lose a match by 10 minutes and you’re out of competition, so it’s very frustrating. There are definitely regrets. But with a clear head, I tell myself that there are still some good things to come out of it. We still played against a team that was very solid (Lithuania, vice-world champion in 2022 and 3rd nation in the world), who played a big match against us, with a lot of intensity. Lithuania’s experience played a role, they have been together on a daily basis for years. They manage to punish us directly, based on details.
It’s things like this that we miss today. But I think that, with a lot of will and work, we can reach this kind of level and even play them eye to eye, compete with big nations like the Serbs. There are regrets because we know that we could pass, even if we were not the favorites of this TQO. We still showed some great things and I think we need to use them for the future. We must quickly turn the page to best prepare for the next deadline in two weeks (in Debrecen, May 16-19).
“Automatisms come with time, with repetition. And you quickly get a taste for this discipline”
In what state of mind will you approach this TQO (16 teams for 3 places), France’s last chance to qualify for the Olympics?
A winning mindset. We’re going there to win. We’re on a mission. The state of mind must be impeccable. But it also has to be healthy, for the good of the France team, despite the competition between us, because we don’t know who the four selected will be. It’s misleading to say that there are three places (for the Olympics). Because you can say to yourself that it will be quiet, but no because of the sixteen teams, everyone wants their place and can take it. So it’s going to be war. And I think it’s going to be even more complicated than this first TQO because no one will be there to cheat. We will have to arrive with fangs and even more determination. We will have to do more than what we did during these three days.
It was your first international 3×3 competition (best French rebounder). What assessment do you draw personally?
I’ve been doing 3×3 for four weeks, counting the first week in February (internship in Beauvais). Physically, I worked overtime to match the intensity. Automation comes with time, with repetition. And you quickly get a taste for this discipline. Personally, I think there were some great things. Afterwards, I think I can contribute more. I’m starting to adapt to 3×3, which wasn’t easy, and to the collective. There are guys who have been sacrificing themselves for more than two years with Team Paris (the FFBB pro team) to achieve this qualification. I have a lot of respect for them, people don’t see all the sacrifices and all the work these guys do to do this discipline. Even in training, the guys never give up. These are things that they instill and that we keep in mind. »
