Canadian 3×3 basketball team tops France for 2nd straight Women’s Series Final title

Canada won its second straight title at the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Final on Sunday after topping France 16-15 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

The championship game served as a rematch of the 2022 Final that Canada won 21-16 in Constanța, Romania, with the defending champions returning all four players for its title defence: Edmonton’s Katherine and Michelle Plouffe, Paige Crozon of Humbolt, Sask., and Kacie Bosch of Lethbridge, Alta.

With France’s Hortense Limouzin knotting the game at 15 with just seven seconds remaining, Katherine Plouffe found Crozon just under the basket where she was able to corral the pass and hook the ball over Limouzin with no time remaining on the clock to secure Canada’s sixth tournament victory of the season.

Katherine Plouffe led the way with 10 points in the final, while her sister Michelle received tournament MVP honours with 33 points throughout the entire five-game tournament.

Canada entered the weekend third in the standings behind China and the Neftchi team out of Azerbaijan, but had won the most tournaments of any team with five, and received the tournament’s No. 1 seed for their dominant play.

Two weeks ago, Canada won in Montreal for its  fifth title of the season, capping a 15-0 record on home soil that also included tournament victories in Edmonton in July and Quebec City in August.

All five tournaments that Canada won leading into the Women’s Series Final they did with a perfect 5-0 record, and Ulaanbaatar was no different, sweeping Mongolia (22-17), France (16-14) and Germany (21-13) in Pool A play on Saturday before dispatching the United States 21-12 in the semifinals on Sunday.

Crozon was immense in the semifinal, pouring in 10 points and blocking two shots in a game Canada had under control from the start.