Olympic moment of the day: 3×3 basketball has its first classic final and a potential turning point | News World

Paris
CNN
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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, 3×3 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, 3×3 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…