The decision came late in the morning. Exactly twenty-four hours before the start of the competition. Thursday May 2, Karim Souchu, the coach of the French 3×3 basketball team, announced the names of the four musketeers chosen to compete in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (TQO) which takes place from May 3 to 5 in Utsunomiya (Japan) . Alongside the two specialists Jules Rambaut and Alex Vialaret (who devote themselves to this discipline all season with the 3×3 Paris club), the coach summoned Hugo Suhard – 5×5 player in Lorient (N 1) but already present during the 3×3 European Cup in September 2023 (4th) — and Lahaou Konaté.
The latter, captain of the Metropolitans 92, is “the new kid in the group”, as he defines himself. International 5×5, finalist of the Betclic Elite last season alongside Victor Wembanyama and Bilal Coulibaly, Konaté discovered 3×3 during a gathering in Beauvais in February before convincing Karim Souchu to take him for an internship in South Korea. South in mid-April and select him for the TQO. On the other hand, Franck Seguela (French number 1 in the world rankings), who had to return to France for medical reasons, is absent.
📣 𝐋𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐐𝐎
4 players have been selected to participate in the Olympic Qualification Tournament (OQT) which will take place from May 3 to 5 in Utsunomiya ⚔️🇨🇵
➕ d’infos: pic.twitter.com/92LRexAx6s
— 3×3 FFBB (@3x3ffbb) May 2, 2024
“It’s been a year and a half since Karim Souchu asked me to come,” smiles Konaté. 3×3 is something new. Even if it’s still basketball, I had to update it, incorporate new things. If he took me on, it’s because he thinks I can bring things to the group. We know why we are here. »
The quartet is indeed on a mission. They are in Japan to win the ticket to the Paris Games promised to the winner of this tournament. Which would be historic for France. The serious things begin this Friday against Egypt (7:20 p.m. in Japan, 12:20 p.m. in France), then will continue this Saturday against Mongolia (9:40 a.m.) and Japan (1:35 p.m.). The semi-finals and the final will be played this Sunday.
“We worked hard, now we’ll see”
To put all the chances on their side, and erase the disillusionment of the Tokyo Games where they had failed during the final TQO, the Blues arrived in Japan on April 23. Previously, they had completed an internship in South Korea from April 14 to 23 “to adapt to the shift,” Souchu explains.
“It tingles a little in that sense,” continues the coach. Three years ago, we picked up the 5×5 guys late, only 4 or 5 days before the TQO, there we took the time and improved in quality. The group is new, needed to find automatisms. That’s also why we left for a long time. In Korea, we slowly gained strength, we played weaker teams than usual to be able to settle certain details, find our feet, revise the systems and above all restore cohesion in the group. We’ve worked hard, now we’ll see. We can’t wait to get started. »
Seeded number 3 in the tournament and number 6 in the world, France will be favorites in its group, “even if there are no small teams” warns Souchu. Mongolia is only one length behind, 7th in the world, and Japan (15th), at home, risks being formidable. If the Blues finish in one of the first two places, they will qualify for the last four where the level will go up a notch with possible duels against Lithuania (3rd in the world, vice-world champion in 2022) and the Netherlands (5th nation in the world).
“We have a tough field, but we know why we’re going there and what we have to do,” says Souchu. We have confidence in ourselves without being excessive. We have to know ourselves, master our subject and then we go to war. We must win. We do not have a choice. » “There is only one place at stake, everyone will be under pressure,” adds Lahaou Konaté.
If the Blues fail to win the TQO, they will still have the possibility of qualifying for the Paris Games during the final tournament, in Debrecen (Hungary), from May 23 to 26, 2024. An eventuality that they prefer avoid.
