Paris continues hot form after taking out FIBA 3x3 Hamburg Challenger 2024

HAMBURG (Germany) - Paris (FRA) continued their impressive form after sweeping through the FIBA 3x3 Hamburg Challenger 2024 in an unbeaten campaign. 

Here's what happened in the 18th Challenger of the season on September 27-28.

The winner: Paris (FRA)

The Frenchmen had to back up quickly after a runner-up finish at the Shanghai Masters. They showed no signs of fatigue as Paris played with trademark fun and flair to dominate the half-court in Hamburg. 

Paris rolled through Day One, with their best performance being a 21-11 beatdown of iconic NY Harlem (USA) where superstar Franck Seguela was on fire with 13 points. 

They faced a test against rising Kandava Turiba (LAT) in the quarters, but had no problems thanks to a heat check from Hugo Suhard, who nailed six two-pointers. 

A more even performance saw them edge Hangzhou (CHN) in a tough semi with excitement machines Seguela and Paul Djoko combining for 13 highlights. 

They were pushed to the limit by top seed Miami (USA) in an epic final, but  had the answers to continue their purple patch. 

 

The runner-up: Miami (USA)

The Americans started with a loss to emerging St Pauli (GER), but Trey Bardsley and Mitch Hanh combined for 15 points as Miami blew past Podgorica Kodio (MNE). 

James Parrott showcased all of his electric skills as Miami silenced the German fans and closed the door on Dusseldorf LFDY (GER) in the quarters. 

Paris Olympian Dylan Travis couldn't miss in a starring role against Mataro Pando (ESP) in a one-sided semi before Miami's title hopes were dashed by Paris. 

Even though they fell short, Miami once again proved why they are such a formidable force on the pro circuit. 

The Final: Paris 21-Miami 19

There was much excitement between the top two seeds filled with human highlight reels. 

Coming off his electric performance in Shanghai, Paul Djoko continued to dazzle with a pretty layup early before James Parrott countered with his own. 

Parrott showed off his shooting prowess and went bang to give the Americans the edge. But sharpshooter Hugo Suhard responded as Paris hit back and this predictably went down to the wire. 

Superstar Franck Seguela scored a couple of buckets down low before Suhard went bang to tie the scores at 17. Suhard hit a two with 30 seconds left to put Paris on the brink of the title before Parrott slammed it down to cap his incredible triple-five of 8 points, 5 rebounds and 8 highlights. 

But MVP Seguela had Parrott on an island in the dying seconds and drove to the rim for the title-winning bucket as Paris celebrated another dub. 

 

The reward: Three tickets to the Neom Masters

Paris, Miami and Hangzhou qualified to the Neom Masters on November 7-9.

Final Standings:
1. Paris (FRA)
2. Miami (USA)
3. Hangzhou (China)
4. Mataro Pando (ESP)
5. St. Pauli (GER)

Top Scorers:
1. Franck Seguela (Paris, FRA) 38 pts
2. Hugo Suhard (Paris, FRA) 31 pts
3. Trey Bardsley (Miami, USA) 29 pts
4. Dylan Travis (Miami, USA) 28 pts
5. Fabian Giessmann (St Pauli, GER) 27 pts

Key Stats:
- Talented Latvian Francis Lacis had a triple-five of 9 points, 6 rebounds and 5 highlights but  Kandava Turiba (LAT) fell short to Mataro Pando (ESP) on day one. 
- Young gun Denzel Agyeman tallied a triple-five of 10 points, 5 rebounds and 6 highlights in St Pauli's (GER) quarter-final loss to Hangzhou. 
- Excitement machine Fabian Giessmann led St Pauli past Miami with 10 points and 7 highlights. 

FIBA