Málaga (Spain) (AFP)

Ten days after their fifth consecutive final lost in the final of a European Championship, the French basketball players launched their Olympic preparation with a 72 to 61 loss against Spain on Thursday night in Malaga, cracking in the last quarter.

The Spaniards have recovered in their ranks Alba Torrens, absent from the last Euro-2021 due to a positive Covid-19 test five days before the start of the competition, and the winger has recovered perfectly by registering 19 points, top scorer of the meeting.

With Torrens, La Roja showed a completely different face than that proposed for the European Championship, finished in 7th place, the worst result since 2011.

Thursday evening, the French lost too many balls (23, as well as 12 interceptions for their evening opponents) to hope to beat a Spanish team, European champion 2017 and 2019 and Olympic vice-champion in Rio in 2016.

The teammates of Endy Miyem nevertheless made the race in the lead in the score, thanks to the show of Marine Johannes (14 points in total) to three points, who chained three award-winning shots in the space of two and a half minutes between the end of the first and the start of the second quarter.

Les Bleues were up to eight points ahead (43-35) at the start of the third quarter, but saw the Spaniards, under the impetus of Torrens and Maria Conde (14 points), gradually return to the score .

Tied at the start of the last ten minutes (53-53), the French cracked to lose eleven points.

Due to the injury of Olivia Epoupa (right ankle), who had to forfeit the Games, and a pain in the thigh of Alix Duchet, left to rest Thursday, the young Marine Fauthoux (19 years old) has was propelled to the position of leader of the French, completing the meeting with 3 assists, 4 rebounds, 6 points but also 6 stray balls.

The players of Valérie Garnier will have the opportunity to catch up on Saturday at the end of the afternoon (5.30 p.m.), still against Spain, in Paris-Bercy, for a second Olympic preparation match before taking the direction of Japan next week.

At the Olympic Games in Tokyo, French and Spanish women are contending for one of the three places on the podium, knowing that the highest step seems once again promised to the invisible Americans, who have won the last six Olympic titles and who are undefeated in competition since 2006.

© 2021 AFP