The French men’s basketball team wanted to test themselves against a big name, and they weren’t disappointed. The French were largely dominated by Germany (71-85) for the last match of Group B, Friday, August 2. Despite the fervent support in Villeneuve-d’Ascq (North), the Blues fell back into their doubts from the start of the competition. However, they got their ticket to the quarter-finals, and will have to wait until tomorrow, Saturday, August 3, to find out their opponent.
The Blues were off topic for 25 minutes. After a decent first quarter, the French team offered a basketball mush, without offensive link or defensive aggressiveness (27-48 at halftime). The Tricolores had arrived lacking a benchmark in the competition after a complicated preparation, but never had it displayed its limits so much in all sectors of the game.
A burst of pride at the end of the match. It was not until the fourth quarter, and in particular an excellent passage from Isaïa Cordinier, who had played little until then, to try to shake up the apathetic Blues. The key players were nowhere to be seen, only Victor Wembanyama got his head above water, but the match was over. Opposite, the stars Dennis Schröder and Franz Wagner dominated the game with 26 points and 5 rebounds for Wagner, but especially 26 points and 9 assists from the playmaker Schröder.
France in the quarter-finals, and waiting. Only two of the three groups have completed the first phase, with Group C playing its last two games tomorrow, Saturday. Everything could be decided following the match between Serbia and South Sudan (9 p.m.). In the event of a victory, Serbia would finish with the status of “best second”, in pot two for the quarter-final table, pushing France into pot three. Les Bleus would then come up against pot two consisting of Canada and Serbia (if the United States and Serbia follow the logic tomorrow). A guaranteed clash.
