The French team victorious and convincing against Italy

For its third preparation match for EuroBasket 2022 and its second consecutive meeting against Italy, the French men’s team won again this Tuesday evening in front of the 8,324 spectators at the Montpellier Arena. And this time in large widths (100-68). The Blues were disciplined and attractive, more than they had been four days earlier in Bologna. The rich training sessions the day before and the day before, as well as the tactical review in the morning, paid off.

A start in the image of the meeting: serious on the part of the Blues

From the outset, French intentions were defensive. What give possibilities in attack on transition. After a series of stops, Thomas Heurtel thus found Rudy Gobert in the roll towards the circle to give a first clear advantage (10-4) to his people after 5 minutes of play. In relay, the bench followed the example and Elie Okobo was positively noticed, like last Friday. At the end of a controlled first quarter (25-14), it was he who was in the lead in the evaluation (7, in 3 minutes of play).

Gobzilla’s first dunk tonight on a service from Thomas Heurtel ????

???????? ???? ???????? | 10-4, 5′#TeamFranceBasket x @rudygobert27 | #PassionatelyBlue | #FRAITA pic.twitter.com/63PXbbpOOm

– French basketball teams (@FRABasketball) August 16, 2022

Thereafter, the Blues maintained their advantage. If the Transalpines got closer twice during the second quarter (31-24 in the 15th, then 41-37 4 minutes later), the time-out of Vincent Collet and the return of several executives on the floor allowed the tricolors to respond for the first time with an 8 to 0 in stride (38-24). The vista and the address of Thomas Heurtel, the (almost) local of the stage, had a lot to do with it. Before the break, the latter – who realized “ a brilliant match ” according to his coach – was in all the right moves (7 points at 2/3 on shots and 3 assists for 9 of evaluation in 6 minutes on the second quarter), as at the origin of the magnificent penultimate tricolor collective action having made it possible to find Evan Fournier at 3-points (51-37). A release, however, allowed Simone Fontecchio, well channeled in this match, to find the opening. The 40 points at the break, given the successful start in defense, were probably too important for Vincent Collet.

The 12th spot in play: Tarpey empowered

The reaction at this level was not long in coming. Thanks to a greater defensive requirement (6/14 for the Italians in the third quarter) marked by the impact of Rudy Gobert, a 3-point address for big nights (11/18 after 30′ of play), the Blues took off (76-55 with 10 minutes remaining). Vincent Collet and his staff could try different line-ups, allowing Terry Tarpey (5 rebounds and 3 assists in 12 minutes) to spend a long time on the floor, and Elie Okobo to feast, he who finished with the best evaluation of the meeting (21, thanks to his 18 points at 6/7 and 4 assists in 19 minutes). With Mouhammadou Jaiteh and William Howard in turn on the field, the Blues finished strong to win easily against a team that had let go.

Amath M’Baye’s fight under the circle and the decisive pass for Elie Okobo ????

???????? ???? ???????? | 81-57, 34′#TeamFranceBasket x @ElieOkobo_0 x @Amath22Juice | #PassionatelyBlue | #FRAITA pic.twitter.com/Y3r5X8z96f

– French basketball teams (@FRABasketball) August 16, 2022

« We have clearly made progress“, confessed Vincent Collet after the meeting, who wanted to note the slightest resistance offered by Italy on Tuesday. See you in two days, same place, same time, for the last preparation match for the Euro, this time against Belgium.

What to remember from the French match against Italy:

• The five major of Vincent Collet remains fixed (Heurtel – Fournier – TLC – Yabusele – Gobert), the hierarchy seems in place.
• Thomas Heurtel a maestro in the lead. Facing a light Italian rear line, the Agathois enjoyed himself in the Hérault.
• Elie Okobo confirms his very good performance from Bologna. The combo-guard is well installed in the tricolor rotation, on position 1 and 2.
• Too young or not, Théo Maledon is fair only intermittently. The Norman is looking for himself.
• Another player in difficulty, Amath M’Baye is struggling to find his place. He seems in physical difficulty, while he is almost the third option at position 4, behind Guerschon Yabusele and Vincent Poirier.
• For the 12th and last spot, Terry Tarpey, already entered on Friday, seems to have a head start on William Howard, who did not play in Italy and was the last to enter on Tuesday evening.
• Even if there are many tourists on the coast at the moment, there is a basketball crowd in Montpellier…