"For the moment, it is (still) frustration that predominates, I have rarely been so dejected by a match for the France team. We had great hopes: Spain had never played at this level in the tournament (…) They have sublimed themselves magnificently”, declared the coach during a press conference at the headquarters of the French Basketball Federation in Paris.
"But it's part of the sport and it's often what allows you to bounce back. Afterwards, maybe it's this kind of misadventure that can take us even further," he said. hoped.
"When we look at the + big picture + (the picture as a whole), we say to ourselves that for French basketball, for the young people who follow us (…) this medal, it still means something. 'we learn, we have to grow and feed on the feeling we currently have (disappointment, editor's note) to be stronger and stronger", added Rudy Gobert.
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Asked about the absences of two executives from the France team, the very experienced Nicolas Batum and Nando De Colo, who had withdrawn from the national team for the Euro but intend to compete in the World Cup-2023 and the Games Olympics 2024 in Paris, Vincent Collet conceded that the two players had "failed" the Blues.
"Clearly, in some areas, they failed us. We knew that before we even started and we tried despite everything to have our identity and even if it was difficult, little by little in the tournament, we progressed (. ..) and that's what got us to the final."
"We were constant in intensity but we did indeed sometimes have air pockets - we often talked about our ball losses - (and) clearly, in this area, their absence was felt", a analyzed Collet.
The 59-year-old technician also underlined the "density" of the level of the teams competing during this Euro 2022.
"I think basketball is still going up in Europe and for me, clearly, the level was higher than in 2017 at the last Euro," he said.
© 2022 AFP