Olympic moment of the day: 3x3 basketball has its first classic final and a potential turning point

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.

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, 3x3 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, 3x3 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.