LUSAIL (Qatar): The top-seeded team, Toulouse of France, delivered an impressive performance by defeating Serbia’s Liman 20-18 in the final, securing their inaugural title at the FIBA 3×3 Lusail Challenger 2025.
Following their semi-final appearance at the Utsunomiya Opener, Toulouse was resolute in their pursuit of further success in a tournament where they were favored to win.
The French team maintained an unbeaten streak, facing little resistance until a closely contested semi-final against Carolina (PUR). Star player Franck Seguela showcased his skills, receiving significant support from Paul Djoko, who contributed a game-high six highlights and played a crucial role in leading Toulouse to victory.
Formerly known as Paris (FRA), Toulouse found themselves in a fierce battle during the final against Liman (SRB), but MVP Seguela excelled when it was most critical, fulfilling the expectations placed upon them in Lusail.
The renowned Serbian team rebounded from an early exit in Utsunomiya to reach their second consecutive Challenger final, marking a strong start to 2025.
After a dominant performance on Day One, they demonstrated their championship experience in the knockout stages, achieving a hard-fought quarter-final win over long-time rivals NY Harlem (USA) and narrowly defeating fellow countrymen Partizan (SRB) in the semi-finals, with Nemanja Zigon taking center stage.
تولوز الفرنسي يتوّج بلقب بطولة لوسيل 3×3 تشالينجر الدولية
أسدل الستار على منافسات البطولة التي جمعت 16 فريقاً من نخبة فرق العالم في أجواء مليئة بالإثارة والمهارة، وأكدت مكانتها كإحدى أبرز محطات رياضة 3×3 عالمياً.
نلقاكم في نسخ قادمة من التحدي
Toulouse crowned champions of the… pic.twitter.com/UUffeTzFc7
— Team Qatar 🇶🇦 (@qatar_olympic) May 3, 2025
Although they fell short of victory, the impressive performances of Zigon and Aleksa Stojanovic, who together scored 65 points, provide a positive outlook for the team. The highly anticipated clash between the two top seeds culminated in a thrilling final that met all expectations.
Zigon continued his red-hot form and went bang to get Liman off to a strong start, but Hugo Suhard kept Toulouse on pace with quick drives to the rim and scored over much bigger opponents.
Suhard also showcased his range to give Toulouse the lead, but it was only momentary as Liman matched them with tough buckets. Stojanovic capped a 7-0 run and Liman grabbed control with a 16-10 lead.
But the Frenchmen woke up and roared back into the contest by scoring the next six points punctuated by Seguela draining a two-piece to level the score.
It was Seguela and Suhard, who combined for 14 points, standing tall in the clutch as Toulouse won their first-ever title in their new colors.
The reward: Three tickets to the WT Amsterdam
Toulouse, Liman and Carolina qualified for the WT Amsterdam on May 17-18.
Final Standings:
1. Toulouse (FRA)
2. Liman (SRB)
3. Partizan (SRB)
4. Carolina (PUR)
5. NY Harlem (USA)
Top Scorers:
1. Stefan Milivojevic (Partizan, SRB) 37 pts
2. Nemanja Zigon (Liman, SRB) 35 pts
3. Antonio Ralat (Carolina, PUR) 33 pts
4. Franck Seguela (Toulouse, FRA) 32 pts
5. Aleksa Stojanovic (Liman, SRB) 30 pts
Key Stats:
– Superstar Stefan Milivojevic balled out for Partizan with his masterclass being 13 points, 9 highlights and a player-value of 21.8 against Lugano (SUI) on Day One.
– Darious Clark had an outstanding tournament for Al Rayyan (QAT) with two triple-fives.
– Liman’s pool victory over Al Rayyan lasted just 6’22” in playing time to be the fastest game of the
