Canada's 3x3 basketball women will remember hard-fought journey more than Olympic medal miss
Quartet leaves Paris having laid foundation for sport to continue growing back home
Kacie Bosch committed blood, sweat and tears to the Canadian women's 3x3 basketball team at the Paris Olympics.
Bosch was wounded in the play-in game against Australia, leaking blood and requiring on-court treatment before finishing out the tournament with a bandage above her right eye.
The tournament itself "was definitely the biggest toll on our bodies I've ever experienced," said teammate Michelle Plouffe.
The team played 10 games in six days.
And when it was all said and done, Canada — medal hopefuls, if not favourites — finished fourth.
Speaking with CBC Sports' Kelly Vanderbeek after the bronze-medal game, Bosch fought back tears.
"In five years, the medal won't mean nearly as much to me as these women," the Lethbridge, Alta., native said.
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Treacherous journey to Paris
The journey for this team just to reach the Olympics was similarly treacherous. It was self-funded for a year, eventually proving to Canada Basketball it was worthy of some support.
Its Tokyo Olympic dreams were dashed by a rules quirk that meant only Canada's men would have the opportunity to qualify. They failed in that mission.
In 2022, it won silver at the World Cup — without a head coach.
Their dominance was astounding — which makes the Paris result all the more heartbreaking.
"Obviously there was a lot of disappointment and frustration with losing those last couple games, but we just had an outpouring of support and love from everyone who supported us," Michelle said. "It's been a lot in the last couple days, but we're still very grateful for the journey."
The tournament itself played out much differently than the usual 3x3 fare. Pool play was more than double the length, from the typical three games to seven. Moreover, there was less downtime, which turned an already-fast sport into a sprint.
And despite the games being 10 minutes in length, they can be physically taxing — just ask Bosch, who was similarly bloodied at the 2022 World Cup.
"I always say I'm just elbow height so I take the majority of the shots to the face. Everybody else takes the same shots, just maybe in different places. But it really is so, so difficult. There are so many things that don't get called that might get called in five on five," Bosch said.
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Close-knit group
Five years ago, Katherine Plouffe shot Bosch a message asking if she'd join the team for a few tournaments. Bosch said no. Crozon then followed up with Bosch, who again rejected the offer.
"It was mostly money. I could not fund myself," Bosch explained, also adding that she'd never even met the Plouffes or Crozon before.
Of course, Bosch was eventually persuaded to join the 3x3 movement. Now, she can call herself an Olympian.
It's apparent, in talking with the four players, just how close they've become in their five-year journey together. Kim Gaucher joined the group last year as head coach after ending her playing career and seamlessly fit in too, even though the sport does not allow in-game coaching.
But it also calls into question whether they can stick together for another quadrennial ahead of the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
The Plouffes will be 35 by then, and they've competed for Canada since before Michelle was a member of the five-on-five team at London 2012.
Still, before this group came around, 3x3 basketball was pretty much off the radar in Canada. Now, there's a foundation.
"That's been part of it is how to create a program that has a special culture, that's very character-based and what kind of teammates will blend together to make a great team on the court, especially when you don't have a coach with you in the games," Katherine said.
For now, though, the group can sit back and reflect on their journey, even if the destination wasn't exactly what they planned.
"We've had so many amazing moments and we've been able to see the growth and evolution of 3x3 in the past five years, and we've seen women's basketball take off as well," Crozon said.
"So I think to be able to have this experience and to share it with our best friends has been so special and I wouldn't have changed anything."
