Anyone who had thought ten years ago that Dutch basketball would win an Olympic medal would probably have shaken their head in pity. But on Monday it really worked and they won gold at the Olympic Games. In 3×3 basketball, the street version of regular basketball.
Dimeo van der Horst, Worthy de Jong, Arvin Slagter and Jan Driessen contributed “a piece of basketball history” with a hair-raising semi-final on the Place de la Concorde, as the latter said after the semi-final victory. It is simply not that easy for Dutch basketball players to achieve something great. “When we are children, it is unthinkable for all of us to go to the Games. Now with the 3×3 we have that opportunity. The fact that we have won a medal is really incredible.”
The success of 3×3 basketball players is mainly due to the fact that the Netherlands got involved quickly around 2009, when the sport grew and became an Olympic sport in Tokyo. It is one of the fast-paced sports of the future and suitable for Generation Z, young people between the ages of twelve and 26 who grow up with their phones.
It seems easy, but the United States does not simply win
Along with countries like Latvia and Lithuania, the Netherlands chose to focus on the smallest version of regular basketball. 3×3 basketball looks simple, with only half the court and only three players who can score if they attack well. But still, not even the Americans can become, look and conquer like the biggest basketball country in the world. 3×3 basketball has its own tactics and, above all, its own dynamics.
Van der Horst was one of the first players. With sweat still on his brow, he assesses why the Netherlands in particular has done well. He particularly mentions the existing structure, with almost 60,000 members, youth teams in almost all age categories and at least two teams that play in the world competition: Team Amsterdam and Team Utrecht, who often train together. “There are eight or nine of us working hard every day. The U-23 and U-21 youngsters also come to prove themselves.”
It wasn’t always easy
However, it wasn’t always easy being a basketball player in a country where the sport isn’t that big, says Slagter. When he started playing 3×3 basketball in 2019, he worked an extra twenty hours. “But I chose my Olympic dream. It was good that I had to work too. At times we would have liked a bit more support, but I think we always believed in ourselves.”
That belief resulted in a unique medal for Dutch sport on Monday. Three years ago in Tokyo the team was already close, this year it came out on top thanks to star De Jong. “But this success is not mine,” he said. “This is the success of the whole team.”
The Netherlands played the final on Monday evening after the failure of this newspaper. The results of the final can be found on Trouw.nl
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