Paris (AFP)

The French basketball players lost against Japan 81 to 75, Sunday in Oshino (Japan), for their last preparation match before their entry into the Olympic tournament against the United States in a week (July 25) in Tokyo.

Vincent Collet's players were, initially, still to face Italy before starting the Games, but the meeting was canceled by the Japanese authorities, the Nazionale not having been authorized to go to Oshino, at a good hundred of kilometers west of Tokyo.

The Blues have therefore played three preparatory matches for the Olympic Games, where they are aiming for the podium.

They suffered three defeats in all, two against Spain (86-77 at Malaga and 87-79 at Paris-Bercy) and one against Japan on Sunday.

While the Games will take place behind closed doors, the Blues played on Sunday in a room in Oshino with 3,000 spectators, a half gauge with one in two seats left free.

Overtaken during the first two quarters (46-30 for Japan), the French made up again their delay in the third quarter, erasing 13 of the 16 points behind after 20 minutes to start the last ten minutes with three points of behind (61-58) on Japan.

Faced with the collective speed of the Japanese, led by their NBA star and flag bearer of the delegation for the opening ceremony on July 23, Rui Hachimura (19 points), Nicolas Batum's teammates (10 points and 5 assists) managed to pick up tied with less than four minutes from the end (74-74).

But they stammered their basketball too much, like the thirteen losses of the ball and eight Japanese interceptions, like that conceded by Nando de Colo on a possession which could allow the French to take control at 74-74.

The 16 points of Evan Fournier, once again the tricolor top scorer, will not have been enough.

"We missed some good shots that we had obtained and which changed the game for Japan. This defeat is disappointing and frustrating. We will have to hold back our start which was far from the expected standards for the Olympic Games. C 'is a reminder, a warning to be taken into account, "said coach Vincent Collet.

Return to China and the 2019 World Cup with bronze around their neck, after a historic feat against the Americans in the quarter-finals, the Blues are aiming for a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, in the face of dense competition between the world champions Spaniards, Argentinian vice-world champions and vengeful Americans.

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