Shenzhen (China) (AFP)
The French basketball players have launched their World Cup by beating Germany, 78 to 74, being still a little scared on the end, Sunday in Shenzhen, where their defensive qualities have made the difference.
This match was the crucial meeting of the first round. The Blues now have only to win two meetings a priori easy, Tuesday against Jordan and Thursday against the Dominican Republic, to finish at the top of their group and arrive ideally placed for the second phase in Nanjing where everything will be played. this weekend, probably against Australia and Lithuania.
"This victory gives us a breath of fresh air," said coach Vincent Collet, who "feared this match rightly" and kept the bitter memory of the defeat against the "Mannschaft" two years ago in the eighth-final of the Euro, the last of the Blues in a major tournament.
Everything seemed easy at first when the French led 14 to 0 thanks to an iron defense. And yet, the end of the match was hot. The Germans, finding both their three-pointer and the impact of their NBA leader Dennis Schröder, even came back two points in the final minutes.
- The surprise M'Baye -
The Blues held up, thanks to the address of Evan Fournier, best scorer with 26 points, and the deterrence of Rudy Gobert in the racket. The double best NBA defenseman, N.1 to the applaudimeter in the busy Shenzhen hall, has accumulated no less than five blocks in the match.
"What we did in defense in the first quarter was very interesting, that's what saved us tonight and what will surely save us in the future," said captain Nicolas Batum, hailing the work leaders Frank Ntilikina and especially Andrew Albicy on the German star. Schröder certainly scored 23 points, but with a fairly low percentage (37%, 7/19).
If the Germans came back several times, in the second quarter (-4) then in the last (-2), it's because the Blues have lost too many balls (16 in total) and have dropped too many rebounds . But it is also because Schröder raised the tone at the end of the game, and because the German shooters, Joahnnes Voigtmann in mind, found the test.
"He came out of the box in the fourth quarter as the very great player he is, he also gave shooting situations favorable to his interiors.We will not always fall on a pivot that is 5/7 to 3 points, "said coach Collet about Voigtmann, author of 25 points.
The good surprise of the match was the performance of Amath M'Baye. This strong winger little known in France and playing his first big tournament in blue scored 21 points, with four baskets at three points, and has defeated a considerable work in defense.
"Playing with players like that makes basketball easy, you're in good situations, you do not have to worry about it," said M'Baye, who was wearing the Virtus Bologna jersey this season. and who will play at the Turkish club Pinar Karsiyaka SK in Izmir at the end of the competition in China.
© 2019 AFP