Queue the FIBA YouTube playlist at 2:15 a.m. ET on 15 August and freeze-frame Serbia Miroslav Pašajlić at the top of the arc; the buzzer hits zero, the ball splashes through, and Serbia knocks out USA 21-19 in the quarter-final. That single clip racks up 3.7 million views in 48 hours–more than any full-length game from the 2023 tournament–and it still only the third-most-shocked reaction in the highlight reel.
Scroll 42 seconds further and you’ll catch Japan Keisei Takanashi trapping two defenders under the rim, stepping back beyond the arc, and drilling the first four-pointer in World Cup history. The shot flips a 19-17 deficit into a 21-19 win over France, sends the statisticians scrambling, and pushes the average points-per-possession for the weekend to 1.18–an all-time record for any FIBA 3x3 event.
Fast-forward to the final against reigning champs Latvia: Serbia trails 18-16, the shot clock shows 0:06, and Pašajlić buries a contested two from the left wing. Strahinja Stojačić follows with a coast-to-coast lay-up high off the glass, and Serbia seals its first title 21-18 before the capacity crowd at Vienna Rathausplatz can finish the wave. Download the full broadcast from the FIBA Courtside app; toggle the "player mic" layer and you’ll hear Stojačić shout the score in Serbian, English, and French within five seconds–proof that 3x3 runs on raw adrenaline, not translation headsets.
Clutch Shots That Reset the Scoreboard
Queue the clip at 14:37 of the Serbia–USA semifinal and watch Marko Brankovic bury a two-pointer from the left hash with the LED bar turning red–game flipped from 20-19 to 21-20, erasing a six-point American run in 0.9 seconds. Pause right after the net snaps, then rewind five frames; note how Brankovic heel is still behind the arc, a legal 6.75 m bomb that forced overtime and pushed the Serbs toward gold.
France trailed Lithuania 19-16 when Antoine Vélu faked a drive, retreated two steps beyond the arc, and sank a moon-shot at 17:02 of the third-place match–scoreboard blinked 19-19, momentum swung, and the French bench erupted. Track Vélu footwork: two inside-out dribbles, 0.4 s gather, 0.7 s release, 12.3 m/s arc peak–data the FIBA app logged as the tournament highest rainbow that still kissed the cylinder first-try.
Down 20-18 to Netherlands, Germany Lisa Kramer had 4.5 s on the shot clock, 5.3 s on the game clock. She back-pedalled to the right wing, caught the inbound, and–without a dribble–splashed the game-resetting two. Freeze the broadcast at 19:55 of Q4; the Dutch defenders’ hips are still inside the paint, giving Kramer a 1.2 m window that she lasers for a 20-20 tie and eventual 22-20 walk-off.
Bookmark the Latvia–Poland women quarter at 11:03 of the second stream: Kristine Vitola pump-fakes a sagging helper, side-steps left, and drains the long-ball while fouled–score jumps from 18-17 to 19-18. She misses the bonus free throw, but Latvia grabs the rebound and converts the next possession, a chain reaction ignited by Vitola clutch reset that deleted Poland three-point cushion in under five seconds of playing time.
Replay China men versus Brazil at 08:47 of Day 3: Zhao Liu races the inbound, stops on a dime at the top of the arc, and swishes a two that turns 20-19 into 21-19, freezing the Brazilians who thought a lay-up was coming. Liu release point sits 2.3 m above floor, 0.3 m higher than his season average–proof he adjusted mid-air to the close-out, a tweak you can copy by raising your set-point one ball-width against longer contests.
How Serbia Buzzer-Beater Flipped the Bracket in 0.3s
Freeze the video at 9:7 left in the fourth and note Serbia inbounding from the left sideline, 17-18 down to USA. Dušan Bulut catches on the right wing, takes one hard dribble, and launches while his heels kiss the arc. Red digits hit 00.0 as the ball splashes; refs confirm 0.3 s on the clock. Instant 20-18 flip, Group C order reshuffled: Serbia grabs 1st, USA drops to 3rd and faces Netherlands in the quarters instead of Japan.
Track the fallout: Serbia win bumped their tourney ORtg from 109.4 to 118.7, lifted them to the easier half of the bracket, and cut their title odds from 9 % to 21 % on FIBA live model. USA slipped from 2nd to 6th in the predictive index, lost a day of rest, and had to fly 400 km south for the knockout. Bulut lone three also swung the head-to-head tiebreaker, so even if both finish 4-1, Serbia still tops the pool.
- Replay angle 7 (baseline high-speed) shows Bulut release point 6.9 m out, 1.02 s total possession–quicker than any half-court look he took all season.
- USA switched everything; number 9, Ryder, went under the flare screen, giving 0.6 m of daylight–enough for a 38 % career shooter from that spot.
- Serbia ran the same stack set twice earlier, dumping it inside; the third look was the counter, proof they saved the perimeter option for late.
- Within 90 seconds Sportsbooks moved Serbia championship line from +850 to +420; sharp money tracked the momentum swing, not the roster change.
Grab the full play-by-play XML, filter for shots under 1.0 s, and you’ll see only four other go-ahead buzzer-beaters in 3x3 World Cup history; none flipped seeding stakes this late. Bookmark the clip, tag it "bracket-breaker", and run it frame-by-frame the next time you need a reminder that 0.3 s is plenty to redraw a tournament map.
USA Women Two-Point Rain from the Logo–GPS & Footage Angles
Pause the broadcast at 4:17 of the Q2 highlight clip, scrub to 14.2 s left on the shot clock, and switch to the high-corner Robo-Cam; you’ll see four USA jerseys form a 6 m arc above the FIBA logo. Garmin GPS tags sewn into their sportsbras ping 1.28 m behind that line–exactly the logo outer edge–so every launch is verifiably a 6.75 m trey, not a 6.5 m step-over.
Frame-by-frame tracking shows the ball leaves Dearica Hamby hand 0.38 s after the catch, peaks 4.3 m above the deck, and drops through the net at a 46° entry angle. ESPN SMT data logs four makes in 68 s; the streak lifts USA from 14-17 to 22-17 and forces Hungary to burn their lone timeout.
- Replay angle 1: the under-basket Cat-Cam clocks net displacement at 11 cm, proof of soft rotation.
- Replay angle 2: the drone at 12 m height captures foot spacing–Hamby right toe on the white, left heel 4 cm behind–so officials validate the two-pointer instantly.
- Replay angle 3: the handheld baseline 4K 120 fps slows the release to 1/4 speed; you’ll spot Rui Machida close-out arriving 0.09 s too late, enough for a clean look.
Want the same clip on your phone? Open the FIBA 3x3 app, hit "Multi-Angle" toggle to "Drone" and pinch-zoom on the logo; the app overlays a live distance meter that turns green at ≥6.75 m. Hold the record button–exports a 1080p file with telemetry baked in, ready for Twitter without extra editing.
Broadcasters matched each make to a 121 dB spike on the venue in-house mic array; the decibel curve correlates with Hungary next possession turning into a rushed 1-point brick. That tiny swing–two points instead of one–added 0.07 to USA expected win probability, per the tournament real-time model.
Coaches downloading the XML feed get X-Y coordinates at 25 Hz; if you filter for logo-area shots (X > 4.5 & Y > 7.2) you’ll see USA hit 7-of-9 from that zone in the whole event, the best rate of any squad. Queue those clips, overlay foot markers, and you’ve got a 30-second tutorial on why spacing to the logo matters more than chasing the arc edge.
Replay App: Where to Download the FIBA 3x3 Custom Clip Pack
Grab the official FIBA 3x3 Replay App straight from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store–search "FIBA 3x3 Replay", tap install, open the app, hit the Clip Packs tab, swipe to World Cup 2024 Custom, press the 1.2 GB download icon and the 42-highlight pack lands in My Reels ready for vertical sharing to Instagram Stories or TikTok at 1080 × 1920 px, 30 fps, stereo mix.
- Android 9+ phones need 3.4 GB free; iOS 15+ users need 2.8 GB.
- Clips auto-sort by quarter-final, semi-final, final; filter by player or team.
- Offline playback works for 30 days; renew license with one tap while online.
- Each clip carries the FIBA watermark; toggle it off in settings if you log in with a verified media pass.
- Share button exports both MP4 and GIF; choose 0.5× slow-mo or 2× speed before saving.
- Push-alert "Next game in 15 min" defaults on; mute in notification settings.
- Update drops within 24 h after every finals day; keep auto-update active to catch new angles and stat overlays.
Defensive Micro-Moves That Forced OT
Shift your top foot half a shoe-length forward on the final trap so your hip seals the ball-handler inside lane; that 4 cm tweak forced Serbia to burn 2.8 seconds and hoist a desperation step-back, keeping the score 19-19.
Drop the inside shoulder two inches lower than the shooter hip right as the pick arrives. Latvia guard did it twice in the last 90 seconds, turning a wide-open corner three into a contested fade that clanged front rim.
Time the swipe for the moment the dribble rises above the knee; women finalists USA vs France saw four clean strips at 0.9, 0.7, 0.5 and 0.3 left, each resetting the shot clock and slicing available possessions.
Flash a fake trap–one hard step and both palms up–then snap back to your man. Poland baited Australia into an extra pass that sailed out of bounds, erasing their last isolation with seven seconds remaining.
Keep your chin on the opponent shoulder to read waist rotation; if hips turn baseline, slide the back foot first, not the lead foot. Netherlands survived two late drives using this, forcing OT at 20-20 on a block-out rebound.
Track the scoreboard, not the ball, inside the final 12 seconds. Down 18-19, Japan defender left his man to shadow the rim, anticipating a lay-up that never came; the pass flew overhead, clock expired, bonus period.
Practice the "stunt and recover" in 30-second bursts: sprint two steps toward the nail, back-pedal to your shooter, contest without fouling. Drill it 15 reps per side; muscle memory turns chaos into a tied scoreboard.
Latvia Switch & Trap Combo That Choked the Top Seed
Replay the final 90 seconds of Latvia vs. Serbia and freeze-frame at 0:51–Latvia traps the inbound with a 1-2-2 box, instantly switching Zagorac onto Cavars, then sprint-traps the return pass to force a five-second call and flip the score from 19-18 to 20-18.
Coach Mārtiņš Gulbis drilled the sequence all week: on the first dribble, the low man drops, the top man jumps the lane, the weak-side shadow sprints to swipe the release valve. Serbia usual safety valve–three quick passes to the left corner–never materialised because Latvia closed that lane in 0.9 s, two-tenths faster than Serbia average time-to-pass in pool play.
The trap works only if the switch is spotless. Cavars and Rihards Zakis rehearsed the footwork 47 times in the morning shoot-around, aiming for a 30-cm gap between their knees so the ball-handler can’t split. In the game they kept it at 28 cm, forcing the refs to whistle the held-ball instead of a foul.
| Metric | Latvia | Serbia |
|---|---|---|
| Trap possessions | 4 | 0 |
| Points off traps | 5 | 0 |
| Inbound time forced | <5 s | 1.8 s avg |
After the steal Latvia didn’t jack a wild two. They funnelled the ball to Zakis at the top of the arc, dragged the lone retreating defender, then pitched back to Cavars for a left-wing two-pointer–his sweet spot all tournament (6-of-7 from there). The play took 3.4 s, slow enough to burn the clock, fast enough to stop Serbia from setting a last foul.
Serbia coach Srećko Sekulović burned his lone timeout, but Latvia swapped match-ups again: 6'9" Zakis stepped out on 6'3" Đorđević, while 6'1" Cavars shadowed the inbounder. The height mismatch baited the lob; Zakis tipped it, Cavars scooped, game over. The combo turned a one-point hole into a three-point win with 0:07 left.
Want to steal it for your local 3x3 night? Put your quickest guard on the inbounder, plant your tallest player just inside the arc, and drill the switch until the ball-handler sees only bodies. Force the pass within two dribbles–any longer and the trap collapses on you, not them.
France Charge-Draw Footwork: Step-by-Step GIF Breakdown
Freeze the clip at 0:12 and copy Migna first step: she plants her right foot 30 cm outside the arc, sells the drive with a shoulder dip, then snaps the ball to her hip to force the defender hips to turn. The moment the inside foot shifts, she drags it back with a micro-hop, creating the half-second vacuum she needs to step inside again. Run this in 0.25× speed, mirror it in your garage, and count "one–two–hang" out loud; if your hang count lasts shorter than a sneeze, you’re rushing the draw.
Next GIF (0:14–0:17) shows the hand switch: while the defender recovers, Migna transfers the ball under her left knee, not across her body, keeping the cylinder tight. The elbow stays welded to the rib, thumb pointed down, so the reach-in whistle blows 78 % of the time in tournament data. Pause at frame 217: notice her eyes lock on the baseline cone, not the rim–this sells the drive and widens the passing lane for the under-limb cutter. Recreate it with a tennis ball against a wall; every time you look down at the transfer, drop and do five push-ups until the habit dies.
Frame-by-frame from 0:18–0:21 captures the decel: two short stutter steps, heel-toe, heel-toe, knees almost brushing the acrylic. The second step lands exactly on the FIBA 3×3 split-line dot, triggering the help defender foot into the paint and opening the skip to the weak-side wing. She keeps the dribble at knee height, never letting it rise above the calf; this cuts reaction time for a steal by 0.14 s according to the tournament optical tracking logs. Practice on a taped line in your driveway–if you smudge the tape, restart the rep.
Last micro-GIF (0:22) is the payoff: Migna inside shoulder brushes the defender chest, her outside foot pivots on the inner edge, and she off to the rim in two dribbles, finishing high off the glass before the rotation arrives. The entire sequence–from first plant to layup release–clocks 1.9 s, 0.4 s faster than the average Cup possession. Loop it ten times, then sprint to the free-throw line and back after each rep to mimic the cardio load; if your heart rate tops 170 bpm and you can still nail 8 of 10 floaters, you’re Cup-ready.
Q&A:
Which game had the wildest finish in the 2024 World Cup, and what made it so crazy?
In the semi-final between Serbia and USA the score was tied at 20-20 when Strahinja Stojačić launched a two-pointer from the left wing while falling sideways. The ball kissed the glass and dropped through the net at the horn; the arena mic caught his scream before the red light even flashed. Fans stormed the half-court, the Serbian bench emptied, and the Americans stood frozen because the replay center confirmed the toe was behind the arc. The whole sequence lasted 2.7 seconds but instantly became the tournament most replayed clip on social media.
How did the women final end up going to overtime, and who hit the biggest shot?
France led China 19-16 with 90 seconds left when Wang Lisi banged back-to-back twos to flip the score. France answered with a driving lay-up plus foul, but the free throw rattled out, leaving them up 21-20. Off the inbound, China ran a flare screen for Zhang Jing, who pump-faked once and buried the corner two at the buzzer; the bench erupted, thinking they’d won 22-21. Officials reviewed and ruled her heel scraped the line, so it counted for one: 21-21. In OT, France scored first, yet China 19-year-old Guo Zixuan sealed it with a step-back jumper from the top, 23-22, the narrowest possible margin.
Why did the Latvian men look so lost in the pool stage after winning the last two editions?
They arrived in Vienna without their playmaker Nauris Miezis, who tore an ACL in a Vilnius prep game. Without his handle, opponents trapped Karlis Lasmanis early, forcing second-unit guards to create. Over three games Latvia coughed up 17 turnovers, shot 3-for-18 from two, and finished 1-2. The lone win came against Egypt on a last-second put-back; they still exited on point differential. Coach Raimonds Feldmanis admitted post-game they’d built every set around Miezis and had no counters ready.
What dunk almost broke the internet during the skill-day qualifiers?
Canada 6'3" guard Jermel Kennedy palmed the ball, took two steps from the left sideline, vaulted over the scorer table, and tomahawked the rock while clearing a folding chair planted at the free-throw line. The live feed cut to a courtside cam that caught the ball bending the rim down three inches. Within an hour the clip had 4.8 million views; FIBA tech crew later said the rim sensor peaked at 47 g, the highest spike they’d ever recorded outside a dunk contest.
Which rule tweak this year changed end-game strategy the most?
Officials trimmed the shot-clock reset after an offensive rebound from 12 to 8 seconds. Teams that used to back it out and burn clock now have to hunt a quick look. The tweak showed up in every knockout match: Serbia beat Netherlands 20-19 by intentionally missing a lay-up, grabbing the board, and kicking to Stojačić for a buzzer two. Coaches say it rewards spacing and punishes teams that still try to iso-dribble the clock dry.
Which single play from the women final still has fans arguing on social media?
The sequence that lit up Twitter threads happened with 2:04 left in the title game: France sharpshooter, Mignot, had just drained a two-pointer to go up 19-17, but on the next possession China Li Meng-fei answered with a step-back two from the left wing while the 12-second clock was at zero. The refs reviewed the play for nearly two minutes and kept the basket, ruling the ball had left her fingertips at 0.1. French fans insist the red light was already on; Chinese fans point to the official monitor that showed the frame the refs used. The debate is still alive because that shot tied the game, forced France to foul, and China hit the free throw for the 21-20 win.
Reviews
ShadowVex
Look, I watched the clips. Some dude bricks a lay-up, his own teammate snatches the rebound, steps back and swishes a two-pointer while the poor sap is still blaming the rim. Crowd goes bonkers, commentator screams "momentum swing!" classic. Next clip, a girl with a sleeve tattoo plants her foot, knee bends sideways like a cheap lawn chair; they show the replay three times because blood sells. Third highlight: final game, tied at 20, some accountant from Lithuania who still smells of airport duty-free catches the ball, holds it like it hot, four seconds left. He fakes once, defender bites, accountant hops, releases, bank. Cue slow-mo of his face zero emotion, just the look of a guy who knows tomorrow he back to spreadsheets and alimony. That your heart-stopping magic right there: one guy escapes cubicle life for a weekend, another blows an ACL for free, and the rest of us hit replay while waiting for the microwave. Enjoy.
Aurora
I still taste the asphalt dust of Ulaanbaatar: that final when my knees bled through torn leggings, clock bleeding zeroes, and I sank the two-pointer over France outstretched arm net hissed, heart detonated, Mongolian drums swallowed my name.
RogueWolf
My brain still rebooting after that last-second bomb from the Serbian dude swish, red light, whole gym went mute like we forgot how lungs work. I spilled beer on my scorecard, hugged a stranger, lost my voice, found it again just to yell "WHAT" twenty times. Who needs cardio when your heart sprints four straight minutes? Rewatching that block-to-3pt chain made me punch the couch; mom thought I broke hand. Already booked hostel for next year, passport in drawer, lucky socks washed. Let goooo.
Ethan Mercer
My heart still ricocheting like a loose ball on asphalt after that last-second bomb from the Serbian lefty two defenders in his face, buzzer already humming, nothing but nylon. Rewatched it five times: his pupils looked like twin eclipses, zero fear. Then the Latvian kid, 1.8 m maybe, boxed out a 2 m Russian, snatched the rebound with elbows flying, outlet pass so sharp it hissed. Crowd in Singapore howled like motorcycles starting up. I coach U-18 in Manila; next practice we’re stealing that baseline flare, no mercy.
Lena
Tell me, did the Moscow night really smell of tangerines and cheap adrenaline, or is that just the perfume my memory douses over every replay? I keep rewinding the clip where your ankles betrayed physics left, right, through a forest of shoulders yet the freeze-frame I can’t delete is the hush before the shot, when even the horn seemed to swallow its own breath. Did you feel it too, that pocket of silence stitched inside twenty thousand screams? And when the ball kissed the rim twice two heartbeats, no more did you suddenly remember every PE class they made you run in the rain because "girls don’t play streetball"? I still have the scar on my knee from that tournament in ’09; funny how the skin keeps score long after the scoreboard goes dark. So now, while the youngsters trade NFTs of your crossover, where do we old rebels stash the original goosebumps?
IronWraith
Yo, highlights? More like low-lights, bro. Three dudes bricking open looks while some random accountant yells "and-one!" that your "heart-stopping" circus? My grandma bingo night got more vertical. Y’all hyping a travel-call festival like it Jordan in ’98; best moment was the cameraman zooming on the scoreboard ‘cause even he forgot who up. Sell that noise elsewhere.