It's a defeat that could hurt the minds of the Blues five days before their entry into the Euro.

Beaten 96-90 in Bosnia and Herzegovina after two extensions, the French basketball players have indeed sent worrying signals, even if the qualification for the World Cup-2023 is not compromised.

This last meeting before the Euro confirmed the difficulties observed among the Olympic vice-champions since the start of preparation.

As during the first preparation match against Italy, as against Belgium and as in the qualifying match against the Czech Republic on Wednesday, Evan Fournier's band got off to a very bad start: five stray balls in the first three minutes of game and quickly 18 points behind (24-6).

20-0 at the end of the third quarter

A catastrophic start reversed two minutes from halftime (40-38).

Except that a huge air pocket on the way back from the locker room, a 20-0 at the end of the third quarter, caused the match to escape from the hands of the French.

"The start of the match was already worrying us", admitted, after the victory against the Czech Republic on Wednesday, coach Vincent Collet paving the way for a change of starting five.

But, he had finally renewed the same: Thomas Heurtel, Evan Fournier, Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot, Guerschon Yabusele and Rudy Gobert.

However, the place of "TLC", determining off the bench at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, seems in danger, Terry Tarpey having finished the meeting with more minutes of play.

Théo Maledon suffered from the return from injury of Andrew Albicy, with a more defensive profile in the position of leader.

He was not among the twelve players selected for the meeting, a bad signal for the leader of the Oklahoma Thunder.

Even if the coach has until the evening before the first match to give his list of twelve players, among whom he still hopes for a possible return from injury of the pivot Moustapha Fall.

Yabusele confirms

Like the action that made it possible to snatch the first extension, a dunk from Evan Fournier after an interception from Guerschon Yabusele, the two men allowed the Blues to believe in it until the end of the second extension.

After one of his "worse games in the France team" against the Czechs, according to him, captain Fournier raised the bar by being useful in defense (four interceptions) and very valuable at three points (6/13) .

Already one of the few who survived on Wednesday, Guerschon Yabusele confirmed (sixteen points, seven rebounds).

Conversely, Rudy Gobert was manhandled in his duel inside with the pivot of Portland Jusuf Nurkic (21 points, nine rebounds).

We will have to show another face when they find Bosnia and Herzegovina in ten days later in the group stage of the Euro in Cologne, where the Blues have inherited a very strong group (Germany at home, Slovenia, Lithuania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary) and a tough start against the Germans, their winners in the round of 16 of the last Euro in 2017.

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