Today, the two best teams of the tournament from Europe — Amsterdam and Paris — delivered an exciting final for the fans. Worthy de Jong immediately stood out on the court, shaking opponents with his dribbling and making swift drives to the basket. A tense moment occurred when he landed awkwardly and limped off the court, but he returned rather quickly. However, the French team managed to capitalize on this moment to take the lead. Several times, players found themselves on the floor after unintended collisions, and the tension grew with every minute.

With three minutes left in the game, the score was tied again, and Amsterdam had a chance to pull ahead, but Jan Driessen missed two free throws, which Paris sharpshooter Hugo Suhard immediately punished with a long-distance shot.

With 27 seconds left, Franck Seguela hit a precise long-range shot, seemingly enough for victory, and Paris began celebrating. However, the referees called for a video review, which confirmed a foot on the arc, reducing the shot to a single point. The game continued with a score of 20-19 in favor of Paris. Worthy de Jong managed to tie the game, and the basketball spectacle carried on into overtime.

Perhaps this overtime and the tournament as a whole taught an important lesson: if Worthy de Jong is given even the slightest chance, he will take it. The Amsterdam leader managed to hit two long-range shots in just seven seconds, securing the victory they deserved—defeating Paris 22-20.

Serbian Teams Eliminated in the Quarterfinals

Earlier today, during the quarterfinals, no Serbian team managed to make it to the semifinals. World-ranking leader Ub Huishan NE was among the first to exit, leaving Partizan Meta Force as the only team left to defend Serbian basketball’s honor against Riffa.

At the start of the game, the Bahraini team showed better coordination, often finding themselves in one-on-one situations near the basket. Partizan had to fight hard for every point. With three minutes remaining, Riffa extended their lead to five points. Stefan Milivojevic’s individual efforts were insufficient, and attempts to involve Milos Supica were met with strong resistance from the opponents.

In the final seconds, the Serbs managed to reach 19 points but simply ran out of time to score the one point needed to tie the game.

Foto: FIBA 3×3