While the Japanese (89-56) and Australia (118-58) had crushed the Malians, weakest opponent of this group B, the Blues were satisfied with a victory by a small gap and remained under threat almost to the end (8 pts ahead only five minutes from the end).

This narrow success revives the players of Jean-Aimé Toupane who, with two victories for a defeat in pool B, could win their ticket in the event of success against Japan on Monday (08:00 French time), depending on the results of Australia-Serbia and Japan-Canada later in the day on Sunday.

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But if each match has its story, they will probably have to show more consistency for 40 minutes and avoid experiencing such a wake-up call against the Japanese, who had blocked their way to the final a little over a year ago. year at the Tokyo Olympics.

Beyond the result, the Olympic bronze medalists wanted to reassure themselves in the game, after having made a pale copy against the Canadians on Friday, dominated in the offensive rebound, struggling to circulate to stand out and move the ball.

They took nearly a period to find their rhythm, notably delivering a listless first quarter in defense, at the end of which they were down 21 to 17. After dropping a whopping 8 offensive rebounds, including three d in a row in the 6th minute to end up cashing a basket (9-13), and lost five balls.

Rupert is gaining momentum

Jean-Aimé Toupane's players ended up raising the bar, putting more aggressiveness in defense and finding more solutions in attack to conclude the first period (42-32) by inflicting a 14 to 3 - to Malians no doubt a little dulled physically - thanks in particular to Migna Touré (4 pts), Iliana Rupert (6 pts) and the return to the lead of Marine Fauthoux (2 pts).

But despite a 14-point lead in the third quarter twice (46-32 and 57-43), they did not manage to win the Malians until the very end of the match.

In terms of individuals, in a match where Toupane had a lot of turnover in anticipation of the last two group matches and then the possible final phase, they were able to count on the contribution of winger Gabby Williams (14 pts, 7 rebounds and 6 assists).

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Fauthoux was also precious, in defense (3 interceptions) and in attack (8 pts), as well as the interior Alexia Chartereau (12 pts in 19 minutes).

Despite still some waste, Iliana Rupert, still inside, has gained momentum (8 pts, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks) after arriving only Wednesday in the wake of the WNBA title won with the Las Vegas Aces.

© 2022 AFP