LUSAIL (Qatar) - Top seed Toulouse (FRA) produced an eye-catching performance to claim the FIBA 3x3 Lusail Challenger 2025 and win their first-ever title. Here's what happened on May 2-3 in the second Challenger of the season.
The winner: Toulouse (FRA) They were: No.1 best shooting value & fewest points allowed
After reaching the semis at the Utsunomiya Opener, Toulouse were determined to go further in a tournament they entered as the favorite.
The Frenchmen produced an unbeaten run, where they were not challenged until a tight semi-final against Carolina (PUR). Superstar Franck Seguela was dynamic and he had plenty of help from Paul Djoko, who had a game-high six highlights and he came up clutch to lift Toulouse over the line.
Toulouse - the artists formerly known as Paris (FRA) - once again were in the fight for their lives in the final against Liman (SRB), but MVP Seguela proved too good when it mattered most as the Frenchmen lived up to the hype in Lusail.
The runner-up: Liman (SRB)
They were: No.1 points scored
The legendary Serbs shrugged off an early exit in Utsunomiya to reach their second straight Challenger final in a strong start to 2025.
After breezing through Day One, they showed off their championship pedigree in the knockouts with a tough quarter-final victory over long-time rival NY Harlem (USA) before edging compatriots Partizan (SRB) in the semis with Nemanja Zigon stealing the show.
They couldn't quite go all the way, but will be encouraged by the performances of Zigon and Aleksa Stojanovic, who combined for 65 points.
The Final: Toulouse 20-Liman 18
There was much anticipation as the two top seeds collided in a blockbuster final that did not disappoint.
Zigon continued his red-hot form and went bang to get Liman off to a strong start, but Hugo Suhard kept Toulouse on pace with quick drives to the rim and scored over much bigger opponents.
Suhard also showcased his range to give Toulouse the lead, but it was only momentary as Liman matched them with tough buckets. Stojanovic capped a 7-0 run and Liman grabbed control with a 16-10 lead.
But the Frenchmen woke up and roared back into the contest by scoring the next six points punctuated by Seguela draining a two-piece to level the score.
It was Seguela and Suhard, who combined for 14 points, standing tall in the clutch as Toulouse won their first-ever title in their new colors.
The reward: Three tickets to the WT Amsterdam Toulouse, Liman and Carolina qualified for the WT Amsterdam on May 17-18. Final Standings: 1. Toulouse (FRA) 2. Liman (SRB) 3. Partizan (SRB) 4. Carolina (PUR) 5. NY Harlem (USA) Top Scorers: 1. Stefan Milivojevic (Partizan, SRB) 37 pts 2. Nemanja Zigon (Liman, SRB) 35 pts 3. Antonio Ralat (Carolina, PUR) 33 pts 4. Franck Seguela (Toulouse, FRA) 32 pts 5. Aleksa Stojanovic (Liman, SRB) 30 pts Key Stats: - Superstar Stefan Milivojevic balled out for Partizan with his masterclass being 13 points, 9 highlights and a player-value of 21.8 against Lugano (SUI) on Day One. - Darious Clark had an outstanding tournament for Al Rayyan (QAT) with two triple-fives. - Liman's pool victory over Al Rayyan lasted just 6'22" in playing time to be the fastest game of the tournament. FIBA