Paris (AFP)

French basketball players will face Spain twice in early July, including a match in Paris on the 10th, as part of the preparation for the Tokyo Olympics (July 23-August 8), the French Federation announced on Wednesday.

After the announcement of the selection scheduled for the end of May, the basketball players of the France team will meet for medical tests at Insep on June 23 and 24, before joining Pau for the first big block of the preparation, "alone real moment when we will be able to train in a consistent way, "said coach Vincent Collet during a press videoconference.

During this period, several selectable players for Tokyo (Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, Timothe Lawawu-Cabarrot, Evan Fournier) could still be affected by the NBA play-offs.

"It wouldn't necessarily be great news if we had Utah against the Clippers in the Western Conference final, and the Nets against Boston on the other side, but that will be part of the game," said the coach.

"If they are active and playing, they will be physically ready," he said.

This Pau block will be split into two parts.

"The first, from June 25 to July 1, will allow us to work on our game fundamentals, both offensive and defensive. On the second, our idea is that we can have a team of training partners who can oppose the French Olympic team during + scrimmages + which will take place on July 3, 4, 5 and 6, "added Vincent Collet.

The French will then head to Malaga to face Spain on July 8, and host the reigning Spanish world champions on July 10 in Paris, in a venue yet to be determined.

After a short three-day break, the Blues will fly to Japan on July 14 and join Oshina a good hundred kilometers southwest of Tokyo, for the second phase of preparation and two last matches, against Japan. July 18 and a team to be determined two days later.

The Blues will start the Tokyo Olympics against the United States on July 25 (9 p.m. local, 2 p.m. French).

© 2021 AFP