By Benjamin Mallet
PARIS (Reuters) – France will face the Netherlands in the final of the men’s 3×3 basketball at the Paris Olympics on Monday after stunning reigning champions Latvia 21-14 in a game they dominated from start to finish.
The French allowed only one long-range two-point shot from the Tokyo gold medallists and Lucas Dussolier shot nine points to hand the Latvians their only defeat of the competition.
The Netherlands had previously swept aside Lithuania 20-9 in the first semi-final.
On the women’s side, Spain will face Germany in the final after beating reigning champions the United States 18-16. Germany defeated Canada 16-15 in the other semi-final.
Spain pulled off a stunning win over the Americans after trailing for most of the game, forcing their opponents into numerous fouls and finally winning in extra time on their sixth free throw.
Sonja Greinacher was scintillating for Germany in a back-and-forth game against the Canadians, delivering 11 points and five rebounds.
The United States and Canada will play off for the bronze in the women’s tournament, while Baltic neighbours Latvia and Lithuania will battle it out for third place on the men’s podium.
(Reporting by Benjamin Mallet; Editing by Clare Fallon)
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