Basketball – Men’s Quarter-final – France vs. Canada
by Vincent Daheron
The French men’s basketball team produced a first-class performance on Tuesday, and almost unexpectedly after a grueling first round, to reject Canada (82-73) and earn its ticket for the semi-finals of the Paris Olympic Games.
The Blues will face world champion Germany on Thursday in the semi-finals.
Thanks to their newfound defensive DNA, the reigning Olympic vice-champions did not back down for a second against a strong Canadian team, third in the 2023 World Cup and no losers in the group stage.
Evan Fournier completely extinguished the suspense with a three-point shot sent almost from midfield to put the Blues away 55 seconds from the buzzer (76-66).
“There is pride, euphoria in my mind that for those who have followed the French team for many years, this group that they know, that they love and tonight, we found him,” answered the fullback. mixed zone.
Vincent Collet’s players started their game perfectly after Isaïa Cordinier (10 points in the first quarter, 20 in total) to quickly lead 19-5 after seven minutes of play The gap was further increased by 19 units after coming back from the locker room (48-29, 21st).
Canada sent shivers down the spines of the rowdy French supporters by coming within five points in the final quarter (65-60, 36th) led by NBA stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and RJ Barrett. but it is not enough.
MAST ADDRESS FOR WEMBANYAMA
The French team released their basic game at the best time after a first round that was far from reassuring, especially marked by a defeat against Germany (85-71) and a difficult fight that victory over Japan (94-90). ).
Tensions seem to have surfaced after Evan Fournier’s public criticism of the proposed offensive play, which coach Vincent Collet considered unacceptable.
“Vincent (Collet) gave us a good-natured speech before the match which galvanized us,” assured Evan Fournier, author of his best offensive performance in the tournament on Tuesday (15 points) by starting the game on the bench. “He put together a really good game plan and we stuck to it.”
“I didn’t even talk about basketball,” explained Vincent Collet. “I told them that everything that happened in the last month should pass us by.”
Despite a weak performance from Victor Wembanyama (7 points on 2/10 shots), the Blues were more aggressive, as Canada offered them during the great failure to open the 2023 World Cup (95 -65).
“We lost the game against Germany and we had the impression that everything collapsed, that no one wanted to support us anymore,” said Guerschon Yabusele, the leading French scorer of the night (22 points). “That’s our identity.
The Blues have a chance to take revenge on Germany, who defeated Greece (76-63), after their two consecutive defeats against the world champions, in the first round but also in preparation.
“It’s a great feeling to be sure you can play on the last day of the tournament and give yourself a chance to win a medal, hopefully it’s the right one,” concluded Evan Fournier.
(Reporting by Vincent Daheron, editing by Bertrand Boucey)