Crozon (far right) and Team Canada won their final stop of the Women's Series in Edmonton in September. (Facebook/Paige Crozon)

By Mat Barrett

Chasing the Olympics

‘Unbelievable experience’: Crozon, Team Canada wrap up 3×3 women’s series with four straight titles

Oct 3, 2019 | 5:19 PM

It was a busy summer for Humboldt’s Paige Crozon and Team Canada.

Crozon was part of the first Canadian Women’s National 3×3 basketball team that participated in the FIBA Women’s Series over the summer. The team featured players from across Canada who all had some sort of Canada basketball experience. The team travelled mainly through Europe for tournaments and Crozon said it was a great experience.

“It ended up being an unbelievable experience,” she said. “We got to see some really unique and cool places around the world and got to play 3×3 basketball at the highest level, which was just unbelievable all around.”

Team Canada made its first stop in Turin, Italy back in June and finished fourth. They won two games at that stop but that was just the beginning for the Canadians.

“We didn’t really know what to expect after that,” Crozon told northeastNOW. “And then we just kind of gained some steam near the end, and we knew we needed to get a few wins to generate enough points to possible qualify for the Olympics.”

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After Italy came France, and another stop in Italy. Crozon and Team Canada finished second and third respectively in those tournaments in what seemed to be the start of something more. They were then in Prague, Czech Republic where they won their first stop of the Women’s Series. That was followed by another stop win in Romania. With two wins under their belts, Team Canada came home for two tournaments. They won the stop in Montreal, and then won their final stop of the season in Edmonton.

Right now, Team Canada sits second in the overall standings for the Women’s Series. The team ahead of them is France, a team that Canada didn’t get to see in the Edmonton stop.

“It would’ve been nice if they would’ve been able to come to the championship to see who would have won in the end,” Crozon said.

When it comes to the Olympics, teams have until Nov. 1 to gain as many points as possible to try and earn a berth in an Olympic Qualifier. With Team Canada done for now, they will wait and see how things play out for their chances at a qualifier. The qualifiers are to take place in March of 2020 leading up to the Olympics that take place from late July to early August.

Personally for Crozon, she said the experience of playing 3×3 really improved her game as an overall basketball player.

Crozon had dozens of friends and family in Edmonton, including here daughter Poppy who was at every spot along the way. (Facebook/Paige Crozon)

“Three on three is way different than five-on-five,” she said. “It can really expose your weaknesses, so it kind of forced me to challenge myself and improve in the areas I needed to. I think that I showed a lot of personal growth as a player and I learnt a lot about the game, and a lot about myself also which was just a rewarding experience all around.”

Meanwhile, during the stop in Edmonton, Crozon said she had over 20 friends and family from Humboldt that came to West Edmonton Mall to show their support, something she said didn’t make her nervous, knowing they’d be supporting her win or lose.

“It was a very touching moment for me as I’ve never had the chance to play in front of my family at home before,” Crozon said. “So that was just the cherry on top.”

Next up for Crozon will be a trip to China for a pair of exhibition games with a version of Team Canada. After that, she said it’ll mainly be training as she waits and sees how things play out with 3×3 and whether they will make it to an Olympic qualifier.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6