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    Olympic moment of the day: 3×3 basketball has its first classic final and a potential turning point



    Paris
    CNN
     — 

    It’s a rare moment that a crowd can feel an athlete becoming a major player on the Olympic stage. It’s even rarer for a crowd to feel a sport itself rising to that level.

    In just its second ever Olympics, 3×3 basketball was more of a curiosity than a must-see event when these Games began in Paris. Played in front of no fans in Tokyo during its first go-round three years ago, it was a sort of amuse bouche to the main men’s and women’s traditional basketball tournaments.

    But on Monday night, 3×3 basketball had its breakout moment.

    First, it was the women’s final between Germany and Spain coming down to the final seconds. Sonja Greinacher of Germany hit a two-point shot to give the Germans a 17-15 lead with 30 seconds to play. It was Greinacher’s second massive shot of the day; she had sunk a buzzer-beater in the semifinal to send the Germany through to the final.

    Juana Camilion of Spain scored an easy lay-up to cut the deficit to one and then Marie Reichert of Germany traveled on the ensuing possession, giving the Spanish one last shot. And then on the final shot of the game, Gracia Alonso’s desperation shot at the buzzer clanged off the rim.

    It was an electric start to the gold medal round and the next game matched its energy.

    Germany's Marie Reichert takes the ball to the hoop against Spain's Sandra Ygueravide in the women's 3x3 basketball gold medal game.

    A thrilling final between host nation France and The Netherlands was absolutely electric from start to finish, the thousands in attendance and watching from beyond the immediate fence of the spectacular venue in central Paris’ La Concorde lived and died with every shot. The peaks and valleys of their noise were incredible, and began before the first inbounds pass was ever played.

    As the sun finally settled below the horizon, the City of Light shined beyond this historic square. The Luxor Obelisk, on the spot where the guillotine once stood during the Reign of Terror in France’s revolutionary period, was mere tens of feet away from the court. Historic buildings surrounding the square were glowing and looming in the distance were the spires of Notre Dame, the domes of Les Invalides and the majestic Eiffel Tower.

    It was a scene made to be enjoyed and the French crowd certainly did. As soon as the women’s gold medal match ended, the cheers of “Allez, Les Bleus!” began to ring out around the stadium and the French fans waved their phones in the cool nighttime air as they sang along to “Allumer le feu” by Johnny Hallyday, an up-tempo rock song that the crowd knew by heart.