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From the outset, the cold shower. The French basketball team suffered a historic setback against Canada (95-65) on Friday August 25 for its entry into the World Cup in Jakarta.
Although bronze medalists in 2019 and reigning Olympic vice-champion, the French selection lost all chance of victory in a catastrophic third quarter (8-25), at the end of which they were trailing by twenty lengths (48-68) by Canadians and their strong contingent of NBA players.
Oklahoma City leader-back Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, gradually warming up (8 points at half-time, 27 in the end), enjoyed himself after the many stray balls from the French (17), already the one of their cute sins during the preparation. Captain Kelly Olynyk (18 points) found solutions on the inside, where Rudy Gobert (8 points, 9 rebounds) failed to weigh.
Only Evan Fournier (21 including 19 points at the break) and to a lesser degree Nando De Colo (12 points but 3 stray bullets) pulled out of the game against the aggressive Canadian defense.
“Today it wasn’t us”
At the end of this 30-point defeat, Nicolas Batum, winger and captain of the France team, reacted: “We are in the game in the first half, we respond to the physical challenge even if we play too directly. , something that is not good at all. This collective game in attack is our strength and we completely zapped it, especially in the second period when we forgot a little who we were. We fell into their game. us to refocus on ourselves: today it was not us.”
For Nando De Colo, leader of France: “In the first half, we were quite present, but we did not know how to control the second half. At one point, we did not make the efforts that We had to. We no longer have the right to make mistakes, it’s up to us to remobilize. We must not forget what happened this evening (Friday), but quickly question ourselves.
Read alsoDraft NBA: how does this event work, of which Frenchman Victor Wembanyama is the star 2023 , there are no other words. We couldn’t really get into our systems because of their defensive pressure. They pushed us back, whether it was on the outside lines or inside. They pushed us back and we couldn’t get into it. With this group, we have the right to a defeat, we no longer have a joker. Focus on Latvia, now we have to look ahead.”
The Blues will not have the right to make mistakes in their second match, Sunday, against Latvia who won their first meeting (against Lebanon), if they want to reach the second round for which the first two are qualified. As Nicolas Batum pointed out: “Now we have no choice (…) It is imperative because with another defeat, we go home.”
With AFP
2023-08-25 17:00:44
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