After the magical semi-final against Spain, the main thing was not to lose concentration to beat a strong Lithuanian team. This is what the French team did perfectly to dominate its subject.
The Blues won after controlling the entire match (80-66). Vince Collet’s players thus ended a century of drought by winning the first national team title in the history of men’s basketball. A gold medal which rewarded the dreams of Tony Parker and this entire generation who had been chasing this title for so long.
Summary of this France – Lithuania final
France starts its match well offensively. Alexis Ajinça takes advantage of Lithuanian assists to recover offensive rebounds and score. Nicolas Batum is much more aggressive towards the circle and it pays off for the winger. The problem is that Linas Kleiza is having a festival on the other side of the field.
The Fernerbahce player continues low post work and outside shots to make Boris Diaw suffer. At the end of the first quarter, he carried Lithuania who found themselves in front (22-19) by a hair.
Antoine Diot concludes a perfect second quarter
But soldier Florent Pietrus is called for his mission: to stop the first Lithuanian threat. The interior surprises in attack, well served by Antoine Diot. The two teams are neck and neck (31-31) before Nicolas Batum raises his voice again. The Portland player multiplies his 3-point successes and attacks the circle with appetite. Behind his activity, the Blues create a first gap.
They thus inflict an 18-3 on their opponents and take off. Antoine Diot also scored an incredible shot at the buzzer to end the first half. 50-34 for the Blues who were able to count on an excellent Johan Petro (6 points). Enough to compensate for the clumsiness of Tony Parker (4 points at 2/7).
The French team takes the lead
After Nicolas Batum, it is Boris Diaw who takes over in attack. The captain approaches the circle to place an arm roll then a few small “floaters” which allow the Blues to approach the 20 points lead (60-41). The Lithuanians move into a zone to try to stop the bleeding.
It works, especially since the French team is a little worse off. Without Tony Parker, visibly exhausted, Vincent Collet’s men have difficulty finding the basket while the Lithuanians are snacking a little on shots. At the end of the third quarter, France was still well ahead (68-50).
The Blues manage the end of the match
Lithuania attempts a final comeback but nothing works. Shots don’t go in, players lose balls by walking on the lines and the gap remains constant, even if France is also struggling.
Tony Parker planted a few shots to maintain the lead and time passed slowly, very slowly, to end this meeting (80-66) completely dominated by Vincent Collet’s men. It was when we least expected it that this generation won the title they so coveted. Tony Parker, Boris Diaw, Florent Pietrus, Nicolas Batum, Mickaël Gelabale and the others are European champions! Gorgeous !
