Paris flying French flag in early blockbuster vs Amsterdam at FIBA 3x3 World Tour Marseille

MARSEILLE (France) - After a month's breather, this memorable FIBA 3x3 World Tour 2023 season returns in style at the first-ever Marseille Masters on June 30-July 1. 

The fans in this picturesque port city in southern France will be cheering loudly for Paris (FRA), who make their season debut in Marseille.

No.4 seeds Paris face a tough early test against Amsterdam HiPRO, who are looking for a deeper run after being knocked out in the quarters at the Utsunomiya Opener and Manila Masters. 

There is plenty of excitement with 3x3 wizards Franck Seguela and Worthy de Jong to go toe-to-toe. 

The other team in Pool D is Plunge (LTU), who will be out to shock the world. 

It's probably taken us too long to get to No.1 Ub Huishan NE, who if you've been living under a rock are 10 of 10 on the World Tour so far this season.

They have, however, slipped on the Challengers circuit but you just know these spectacular Serbs are at their best when it matters most and they are armed with their awesome foursome here. 

Ub headline Pool A which also features  Fribourg (SUI) and Jeddah (KSA), who won't be pushovers with the inclusion of excitement machines Malik Hluchoweckyj and Dominique Gentil. 

Vienna (AUT) haven't been seen since a strong semi-final run in Utsunomiya but the No.2 seeds will be dreaming of a title here. 

With Quincy Diggs and Nico Kaltenbrunner forming a deadly one-two punch, Vienna's chances look good. 

But it won't  be easy in Pool B against Warsaw Lotto (POL) and hometown heroes Marseille (FRA) with high-flyer Lorenzo Thirouard-Samson set to become a crowd favorite. 

Antwerp TOPdesk (BEL) lead Pool C and the brilliant Belgians have adjusted to life without superstar Thibaut Vervoort superbly. 

They will arrive with swagger like Ryan Gosling in Barbie having won the recent Ulaanbaatar Challenger. 

Antwerp are hot favorites in Pool C but don't count out Dusseldorf LFDY (GER), who boast towering Niklas Kropp - a dude who can also light it up from deep. His skill-set is just unfair!

Haarlem (NED) are well-equipped to cause upsets with these rising Dutch Masters boosted by the presence of young gun Dylan Van Eyck. 

Just check out what he's done before on the half-court!

FIBA