ORLEANS (France) - After a recent form dip, Toulouse (FRA) clicked into gear at the FIBA 3x3 Orleans Challenger on July 11-12 to clinch their third title of the season.
Here is what happened in the seventh Challenger of the season.
The winner: Toulouse (FRA) They were: No.1 fewest points allowed
After taking out the WT Amsterdam, the Frenchmen hit a rough patch and had an early exit at WT Vienna before their stars were part of France's disappointing World Cup campaign.
They bounced back impressively in Orleans, a feat made more impressive without superstar Franck Seguela. Playing with a chip on their shoulder, Toulouse were inspired and buoyed by the feverish support of the French fans in the stands.
After strolling into the knockouts , Toulouse were made to work against Riffa (BRN) with Raphael Wilson nailing a two-piece to send this epic quarter-final in OT. He then hit the winning bucket to send Toulouse into the semis, where they again had to dig deep against dangerous Hangzhou (CHN).
Big fella Jules Rambaut was the hero on this occasion with the go-ahead bucket as Toulouse then took advantage of a three-man Vienna (AUT) in the final to regain that winning feeling.
The runner-up: Vienna (AUT)
Vienna's title hopes appeared to sink when Enis Murati was injured in the team's opener and the three-man team then suffered defeat to Hangzhou. They had done enough to progress, but it appeared a long shot that they could contend.
Mustering all of their famed resiliency, Vienna produced a gutsy OT victory over upstart Podebrady (CZE), who had stunned top seed Ub (SRB) in the pool stage. Superstar Quincy Diggs was unstoppable against Marijampole MANTINGA (LTU) in the semis as he put the team on his back with 9 points and 6 highlights.
They ran out of gas in the final, but Vienna showcased plenty of heart and were brilliantly led by Diggs, who finished No.1 in most of the key stats.
The Final: Toulouse 21-Vienna 16
Toulouse entered as warm favorite, but wary of a shorthanded team playing with plenty of heart. For Vienna's improbable run to end in triumph they needed Diggs to continue his hot hand and he started in ominous fashion with a splash from deep.
The Austrians were full of running with Nico Kaltenbrunner and Fabio Sohnel dominating as Vienna skipped out to a 6-2 lead. Toulouse settled and went on a 7-2 run capped by a three-point spurt from electric Paul Djoko.
Playing without a sub, Vienna started to show signs of fatigue but Kaltenbrunner found some extra reserves to keep his side in the game. But Djoko went bang, bang to finally end Vienna's resistance before MVP Hugo Suhard nailed the two from the left side much to the delight of the home fans.
The reward: Three tickets to WT Shenzhen Toulouse, Vienna and Hangzhou qualified for WT Shenzhen on October 4-5. Final Standings: 1. Toulouse (FRA) 2. Vienna (AUT) 3. Hangzhou (CHN) 4. Marijampole MANTINGA (LTU) 5. Carolina (PUR) Top Scorers: 1. Quincy Diggs (Vienna, AUT) 38 pts 2. Nico Kaltenbrunner (Vienna, AUT) 31 pts 3. Filip Novotny (Podebrady CZE) 31 pts 4. Antonio Ralat (Carolina, PUR) 30 pts 5. Tautvydas Kliucinykas (Marijampole MANTINGA , LTU) 29 pts Key Stats: - Sniper Antonio Ralat was on fire with 14 points and a player-value of 16.6 in Carolina's (PUR) pool win over Elancourt (FRA). - Hangzhou's excitement machine Aleksandar Lazic had 10 points and 8 rebounds in their pool win over Ermont SENEF (Fra). - Carolina's OT quarter-final victory over Marijampole MANTINGA went for a remarkable 14'29" in playing time to be the longest game in the tournament.
FIBA