Women's 3x3 powerhouse Canada among favorites at Paris Olympics
OTTAWA (Canada) - As a long-time 3x3 powerhouse, Canada has grown used to collecting titles and their stature in the women's game means they'll be deservedly rated among the favorites in Paris.
OTTAWA (Canada) - As a long-time 3x3 powerhouse, Canada has grown used to collecting titles and their stature in the women's game means they'll be deservedly rated among the favorites at the Paris Olympics.
Let's take a closer look at the highly-rated Canada, who have won two titles on this season's FIBA 3x3 Women's Series.
CANADA
Ranking: 5th
Previous Olympic Appearances: Nil
Squad: Michelle Plouffe, Katherine Plouffe, Kacie Bosch, Paige Crozon
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Key Player: Michelle/Katherine Plouffe
We're going to cheat here, but we must include these spectacular sisters joined at the hip.
The twins are the heart and soul of this imposing Canadian team and mirror images on the half-court. It's almost unfair for opponents who have to battle with these 6ft.3in (1.9m) giants.
Katherine is the current No.1 ranked player in the world, while Michelle is third making these siblings the nastiest one-two punch in women's 3x3.
Qualification: Canada fell agonizingly short of qualifying for the Olympics when they lost a heartbreaker to Australia in the final of the FIBA 3x3 Universality Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2.
The pressure was on Canada, who have been at the forefront of women's 3x3 as they fought for the final tickets up for grabs at the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
After a tight loss to Spain, the unthinkable was close to reality with Canada on the brink of missing out on Paris.
But they mustered all their experience and put on a masterclass against Hungary to complete their Olympic dream as Katherine Plouffe walked off with the MVP.
Expectations: Canada have been an OG in women's 3x3 and almost done it all. They've won a slew of titles on the Women's Series and are former champions of the AmeriCup.
Canada finished runner-up at the FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2022. And they have enjoyed most of this success with the four stars journeying to Paris. They'll be extra determined after Canada missed out on 3x3's Olympic debut in Tokyo.
This is a highly-talented team with amazing chemistry and Canada appear to have been built in a 3x3 lab.
They've got the athletic Plouffe sisters anchoring the paint, while Paige Crozon is a bucket getter and the leading scorer on this season's Women's Series. She has not looked like missing from deep all season.
The ball-handling skills of Kacie Bosch rounds out this dynamic squad, who will most definitely be eying a gold medal.
Canada will arrive in Paris with their confidence sky high after taking out the Edmonton Stop on the Women's Series to underline their status as one of the top contenders for gold in Paris.
FIBA