Beijing (AFP)

"Defense, defense!" The encouragement that comes from all the basketball stands was the rallying cry of the French at the World Cup in China, where they returned with a bronze medal and an Olympic ticket.

In the semifinals, the Blues were taken to their own game by Argentinian extremely aggressive on the ball carrier, but against Australia (67-59), they imposed the match their identity, that of "dogs of guard ", as Evan Fournier said.

This desire to defend irrigates all French basketball. "What is defined as a priority in the French team is on all young generations," said coach Vincent Collet. And it's not new. While Tony Robbery's offensive exploits have been remembered, the medals of his generation have been won mainly in defense.

"Our teams are made up of players who have a particular athletic value" that distinguishes them from most other nations, explains Jacques Commères, director of the high level pole at the French Federation (FFBB). "We have the ability to move very fast, to jump high, these are basic qualities that lead to defensive performance.This makes it possible to press the opponent all over the field, to cut the passing lines," he added. he.

- "In pro, you have no choice" -

The former coach of the French women's team quotes as an example in the current group the ultra fast Andrew Albicy, the leaping Axel Toupane and of course Rudy Gobert, a player at the height (2.17 m) and the exceptional wingspan (2.36 m) which "has an outstanding athletic value by the speed at which it moves and the size of its jump".

In budding basketball players, who especially like dribbling, shooter or even dunker (for those who can), the desire to defend is not innate and the trainers must be persuasive.

"I was made to understand that if I wanted to play pro, it went through the defense," said Albicy, the smallest player of the French team (1.78 m), remarkable against the Australian Patty Mills Sunday. "For me, it started with Vincent (Collet, Strasbourg) When you come in pro, you have no choice, but when you're young you have to force yourself a bit," says Toupane.

Basketball is not one of the sports where you can win a match by scoring only once or twice, or not at all, you need, to win, to put baskets, in large numbers (about thirty on average by meeting for the Blues at the World Cup). But here too, it's the defense that partly determines the style of the attacking game.

- A launching ramp to maintain -

"The defensive value generates the offensive behavior that follows: with a large number of won balls, we can run to the opposing basket.All our national teams are reputed to have a fast game and powerful recovery," says Jacques Commères.

It remains that in basketball, we can not "concreting" and rely solely on counter-attacks. "We are now also recognized for being good technically in attack and for having a tactical sense that has developed," says Commères, taking the example of players like Evan Fournier and Nando De Colo, the best French scorer Sunday (19 points) . "Offensive capabilities are essential in our sport.If we can not put a basket, we can have the best defense, we will not win the big games."

More than an absolute weapon, the defense is no longer a launching pad, which must be maintained at all times. "Our sport is planetary and evolving all the time, everyone is working, the referee is very concerned about the attacker and the offensive value of the players is increasing.There was twenty years ago, we could ignore some (considered as too clumsy to score, ed), but there is less and less in international competitions that do not have the ability to put baskets, including from afar, "concludes the technician.

© 2019 AFP