Outlasting a strong Team Germany, Alex ‘Ally’ Wilson nailed a tie-breaking and match-sealing shot from distance to secure a 21-19 win at La Concorde, Paris.

In one of the Olympic movement’s newest and most popular disciplines with sports fans, Ally Wilson and her teammates were soaking it all in. 

“I live for these types of moments,” Ally said.

“You practice growing up, and as you get older, they are the type of shots you want to take. I felt confident taking the shot to win.”

In the fast 3x3 Basketball format, if a team reaches 21 points before the 10 minutes of regulation time expires, the game immediately ends.

Both teams kept the score tight and traded the lead. As time ticked over nine minutes of play, the score had been level 11 times, with Marena Whittle securing nine points and three rebounds, while Alex took a total of eight points and five rebounds. Teammates Anneli Maley and Lauren Mansfield took two points each.

The Gangurrus opted for a timeout with 1:01 to play, leading 19-17. But the lead quickly vanished, as Germany’s Svenja Brunckhorst levelled the scores on a long range two-point shot with 54 seconds to go.

Thankfully for Australia, the ever confident and level headed team maintained their game plan, and Alex shot the winner with 46 seconds on the clock, ending the match. 

The Gangurrus were well deserving of the win, the collective team effort reflecting on the scoreboard.

Not only due to her match winning points, Ally was an unstoppable force on court. 

Diving for loose balls and putting her body on the line to win possessions, Ally wasn’t letting any opportunity slip by.

“That’s the type of player I am.” Ally said.

“I bring a lot of energy and hustle. I’m ready to give it all out there.

“Yesterday (in their loss to Canada) we were a little bit timid and in awe of being at the Olympics for the first time.

“We found our feet in this game. This is how we play basketball.”

Next, the Gangurrus have two games in one day, facing China at 5pm AEST and then the USA at 9pm AEST on Thursday 1 August.

Both teams were bronze and gold medallists respectively at the last Olympic Games.

“China are a physically strong team. We have to try and keep them out of the paint as much as possible,” Ally said.

“The US, we haven’t played them a lot. We will watch some match vision and figure out how we can exploit their strategies and what we think they will do defensively.”

Jeff Dickinson-Fox