Courtside in Bordeaux

A warm summer’s evening in the south of France, where courtside met riverside as 3x3 gripped the world’s wine capital.

Credit: FIBA 3x3. Evan Walshe 3 point attempt vs Valencia at the Bordeaux Challenger 2025.

With days of fine-tuning and game preparation behind them, fortified by the newly added firepower of GB international Evan Walshe, London arrived on the banks of the Garonne brimming with ambition. London’s journey to Bordeaux promised a chance to stake their claim against top-tier opposition on the established French 3x3 scene.

Game 1: London v Riffa

Still riding the high of a stunning victory over tour leaders Ub in their last outing in Vienna, the British side were keen to hit the ground running and cause further upset in a Challenger event stacked with the world’s best. In their opening Pool D game, London faced 4th seeded Riffa in a match-up featuring an in-form Dennis Donkor, fresh off a 13- point explosion in their earlier win over Valencia. This duel looked set to provide an abundance of highlight plays for the French crowd and was certain to require stellar London defence to halt the formidable Belgian number 1.

Promisingly for Riffa, the game opened with the ball in the hands of their talisman Donkor, who wasted no time in launching a shot from beyond the arc as Milos Antic picked up an early foul for his involvement in an off-ball tangle with Ryan Langborg.

2-0 Riffa.

London needed to find a quick answer to halt the Belgian’s fast start.

Jerome Desrosiers rolled hard to the basket after setting a screen for his college teammate Ryan Langborg. Langborg spotted the storming Canadian and provided the pretty one-handed bounce pass for Desrosiers to finish with an imposing flush, denting Riffa’s early momentum.

After a cluster of missed 2s by both sides, Riffa worked the pick and roll as Mohamed found Antic for what appeared to be an easy close-range attempt to extend their early lead. However, Desrosiers made the correct read and came up with a block and possession of the ball, asserting his versatility on the game early, much to the delight of the onlooking Evan Walshe.

Walshe continued London’s momentum, putting them firmly in control with a powerful right-hand drive and a tough finish through contact to collect his first points for London 3x3. An excellent start for the debutant as he tied the score at 2-2!

Donkor had helped Riffa to an early lead, but all the impetus was now firmly with London.

Not letting up, Desrosiers used his size advantage to grab his own rebound over a leaping Donkor and convert the second chance effort. Ashley Hamilton added to the London scoring spree with a composed corner 2 after muscling his way to a rebound.

5 unanswered points had propelled London to a 3-point lead with 7:50 to play.

A scoring drought for both teams as the players began to tire sapped London’s momentum before Donkor found inspiration in a double crossover into a pull-up 2, nailing it from the top of the key.

A series of London turnovers and scoreless possessions combined with Riffa going on a scoring run of their own answered only by a Walshe layup, resulted in a commanding 10-6 Riffa lead with 4:30 remaining.

Langborg provided London with a late glimmer of hope with an acrobatic up and under finish off the feed by Desrosiers, compounded by another layup in quick succession following a rare Donkor miss. Despite an uncharacteristic performance from 2-point range, Langborg managed to contribute on the interior, finishing 100% from 1-point range.

Hamilton found his way into the game with a huge rejection at the rim before holding his nerve and converting both free throws to cut the deficit to just 1.

12-11 Riffa. 2:50 to play.

Hamilton and Desrosiers both collected another 2 points each at the rim with Hamilton making a big-time move to tie the game at 14 a piece with a reverse layup.

Donkor regained composure to put Riffa out of reach with two converted free throws. A frustrated Hamilton dunk provided his 4th highlight play of the game but was not enough to reel in the 7th ranked team in the world. Riffa escaped narrowly as the clock expired.

17-15 Riffa.

Final.