From our special correspondent in Tokyo,
Since the time that we pay colleagues more supporters than journalists in the press gallery, it is necessary to know how to confess.
In Tokyo's Saitama Arena, boiling like never before during the Games, we cried like a calf born into the world on Nicolas Batum's magic counter, more Batman than Bruce Wayne himself.
An action that sends France to the final after an end to the match as stressful as it is sublime against admirable Slovenians.
We tell you about the last 45 seconds that seemed like an eternity, before the deliverance.
Act 1: Fournier's fifth foul, 44 seconds to go.
89-85 for the Blues
The Blues, who were up to ten points ahead in the third quarter thanks to a good address from afar, made a small hole at the start of the last minute. It is Evan Fournier who decides to raise the ball, with Prepelic who sticks to him Basque at the limit of the fault. But it is the tricolor rear that makes the small gesture of the elbow too much, the one that comes with the annoyance of not getting rid of the marking. Offensive foul and final exit for Fournier, who had just committed his 4th foul on the previous action. The Boston player blames himself to death
“When I do my stupid mistake, I have a flashback of my first important final in my life with the youngest of Val de Marne, against the Rhône team.
I go out on five faults, and on the bench for the last three minutes I was in tears because I was under so much pressure.
And you end up winning on a miracle, I really thought about that in fact ”.
🏀 🇫🇷 🇸🇮 France beats Slovenia thanks to a last second against its captain Nicolas Batum to challenge the United States in the final (90-89).
Magic !
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- francetvsport (@francetvsport) August 5, 2021
Act 2: A messed up attack, 14 seconds to play, 89-88 for the Blues
On the bench of the Blues, Vincent Collet is still on this nudge story when Prepelic sends a three-point bomber from Tokyo Bay. “This false offense - I still feel like it was a flop - changes the game. Because otherwise we have the ball and it's almost a technique, at least see the fault for him. There it is reversed. We take a three points, everything goes very quickly at that time ”.
The Blues have the ball with 33 seconds to go. De Colo caused a foul in the lead, but the Slovenians were not penalized. Everyone looks at each other after the throw-in, and De Colo decides on a racquet head shot that will be described as muddy at this point in the match, but no one has fought to offer him a hand, the top scorer of the Blues took their responsibilities. Missed shot, Slovenian rebound, 21 seconds to go, the worst-case scenario is in place. “The match continues, we're just trying to stay together,” says De Colo. In this last minute we made some mistakes, we took difficult shots. When Slovenia comes up with the last ball, we just say to ourselves that we have to be careful of the defensive assist and to control one on one. But from where I am placed on the ground,everything goes very quickly from that moment ”
Act 3: Doncic refuses to take responsibility for shooting, eight seconds to play, 90-89
A word here about the elephant in the middle of the bathroom.
Yes, Luka Doncic finished this semi-final with a triple double, including 18 assists, a rarity at this level.
But the absolute star of Dallas refuses to take the last shot absolutely, disgusted by a French defense who has worked together to take it.
Large, small, medium, everyone has echoed this defensive harassment to be supervised at military school.
“On Luka, it's a team effort, judge Gobert.
He's a very great player, and most of all, he makes his teammates better, so the mentality, for us, was to try to make his life difficult.
We knew it wasn't going to be a guy's story, but that it would be as a team that we were going, maybe not stop him, but limit him.
Our goal was to exhaust him as the match progressed, each in turn.
I really tried to make him think a little, to make him doubt a little, and despite all that, he made a great match ”.
At this moment of the match, however, Doncic, who has not taken a shot since the first basket of the second half, has completely lost confidence in his ability to score.
His special three-point step back shot usually ends up as a snack for the pigeons, and he prefers to let it go.
“It was the goal, to take it all over the field all the game together and take turns,” explains Evan Fournier.
Just as strong as he is in a 40 minute game you end up having a hard time physically because I think if he is fresh he never passes the ball.
He was not confident, He had Rudy's arms in front of him, it was complicated ”.
Ball on the wing, life is not so good
Act 4: Batman flies on Prepelic, a second to play, FINITO
The action continues on the right, and Doncic having mobilized a defensive "switch" just before, there is a very small gap to fill for a French defender. The defender in question? Nicolas Batum, trèèèèèèèèès slightly behind Prepelic, hot as volcano lava in the last quarter. France is afraid, very afraid, including on the bench. “When I see Prepelic doing his lay up, I tell myself it's over,” sighs Fournier. “And then Nico arrives, I don't know where he comes from. He unfolds his arm and he goes into batman mode. And Rudy takes the rebound behind. In my head, it was pf…. "
And in that of the hero of the day? Batum, who is waiting his turn in the mixed zone, has time to put everything into perspective. “I had good matches with the France team, but I have the impression that we remember too much my rotten matches. Does this counter erase everything? Tell me yes please ”. Obviously it erases everything. The former lieutenant of TP continues his return to the past a little before coming to this legendary counter
" I had to do it. I didn't play a big game, I was a little inside. I see 14 seconds left, the ball in the hands of perhaps the best striker in the world right now. He gives the ball and there I see Prepelic, and I say to myself "No, I have to stop there". It must be five years since I did a counter like that. This is an action that I did a lot when I was younger, let the guy pass and catch him in the circle, I can't explain how it came back. I knew I was going to have him, take him on the board, that he was going to do a lay up And when I touched the ball I couldn't see what was going on, if there was someone behind , and I say to myself “please, that a Slovenian does not take the ball behind”. I turn my head, and I see the ball far, I lift my head,I see 1.2 (seconds), and presto, it's good, we did it ”.
The French staff and his team members threw themselves on him, Vincent Collet a little behind: “I saw the defeat up close.
Afterwards, I saw Nico rise… There, as I have already seen him do this kind of action, I hoped but I was not sure.
And again, it was necessary behind Rudy to grab the rebound for it to be over.
It's an incredible end to an extraordinary match.
It would have been infinitely cruel to lose him ”.
Doncic, who we saw completely overwhelmed at a press conference, will not contradict him.
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