Vincent Collet's men, who started as big favorites against the modest team of Portugal, 58th nation in the Fiba ranking, also sign their fourth victory in a row and are getting closer to qualifying.
At the Matosinhos Sports Palace, in the north of the country, the Blues only managed to really take off and win in the last quarter.
Penalized by many loss of balls and inaccuracies, they were put in difficulty by a well organized Portuguese team, with a good collective game which prevented them from unfolding their counter-attacks.
The French team finished the first half one point behind (35-34) against an opponent who made it very difficult for them.
Upon returning from the locker room, the French, struggling in defense, with sometimes laborious passes and a lack of intensity, missed their start to the match, before recovering.
But in the last quarter, the Lusitanian team stalled, allowing the French to regain the upper hand.
The Blues then regained their cohesion and saw their efforts rewarded.
After these two victories against Portugal and the successes against Montenegro (73-67) and Hungary (78-54) in November 2021, the Olympic vice-champions are continuing a flawless course, even if adjustments still seem necessary.
After this international window, the French will meet again at the beginning of July (travel to Montenegro and reception of Hungary), before switching to the second qualifying phase for the World Cup-2023 at the end of August, then to Euro-2022 in September in Germany. (Berlin and Cologne).
© 2022 AFP