Bronze medalists at the last 3×3 Basketball World Cup, the France team had a dark day on Tuesday for its debut in the competition in Vienna (Austria).
In the first match, against Brazil, the Blues ran after the score. Alex Vialaret, yet author of 7 points, missed a double counting shot 15 seconds from the end, while the French team was trailing 16-18. Miranda then concluded with a free throw (16-19).
Vialaret was not enough against Serbia
Against defending champion Serbia, the French team led 6-3 halfway through the match, then 15-13, before being overwhelmed (final score: 21-16). The Blues again counted on Vialaret (10 points), assisted by Franc Séguéla (5), against a more homogeneous Serbian team.
Les Bleus will play their two other Group A matches on Wednesday, against Germany (8:25 p.m., live on the live team), and Madagascar at 10:05 p.m. The group winners will be directly qualified for the quarter-finals, while the second and third will face each other in the round of 16.