For their last test run in Orléans, before heading to Lille for the start of their Olympic competition in a week, the Blues were not far from tasting victory again.
But Dyson Daniels scored the winning shot on a throw-in with two seconds left, and the Blues therefore end their preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games with a fourth defeat in a row (83-82).
An external surge
The start of the match was serious, with Victor Wembanyama who imposed himself from the start for the offensive rebound and the dunk. The Spurs pivot also hit from mid-range but Australia benefited from a hot streak from another former Texan player, Patty Mills, who scored 11 points in 6 minutes.
Matthew Strazel answers him with a 3-pointer and does his best in crossing the first curtain, but the Blues still lack the toughness to keep up with the high offensive pace of the Australians who are skillful from afar (4/7). In a word, it still lacks consistency, with on one side a big defensive absence on a layup all alone by Josh Giddey, and then, on the other, a very nice offensive sequence at the end of the first quarter, the Blues showing self-denial and seriousness… even if the finishing is still lacking.
Ahead by one point after ten minutes (28-27), the Blues kept the same pace in the second quarter. Guerschon Yabusele found the target at 3-pointers and, after several unsuccessful attempts at the alley-oop, he also imposed himself with a dunk. If Mills kept his hand warm and pointed to 15 units at the break, France can thank the Australians for leaving balls on the road, several times whistled on departure steps.
Better still, the Blues can this time count on an interesting contribution from their back lines, with 18 points in total, including 7 for Matthew Strazel (50-44).
On the right momentum, the Blues resume the game seriously. They roll out their three-step system to send Rudy Gobert to the alley-oop, after Victor Wembanyama had opened the ball at the restart. At +8 on several occasions, it is France who leads the race, with the desire to pass and defend hard. And address with Nicolas Batum, at 3/4 from afar in particular.
A stifled end to the match
It worked well at the start of the third quarter, less so later, as Duop Reath began to warm up. Vincent Collet's men managed to control their rebounding well, but Australia did not give up and now had five players with ten points or more. Above all, they finished very strongly to equalize before the last quarter, on a buzzer-beater shot from Jack McVeigh (63-63).
In search of serenity since the beginning of the preparation, the Blues have not managed to get out of their weak period, like Isaia Cordinier who blows cold (with a lost ball on the counterattack) and hot (with a big two-handed dunk). At 70 all with five minutes to go, we are in any case entitled to a real “money time”.
Patty Mills launches it ideally for the Boomers with a mid-range shot followed by a long-range shot, but Vincent Collet concocts a system to put Rudy Gobert into orbit, served by Victor Wembanyama, at the alley-oop. Two turnovers shake the tricolor confidence but Frank Ntilikina equalizes then gives the advantage to the throws.
The Blues defended hard but were unable to regain possession of the ball, leaving the Australians with one last opportunity to win, on a throw-in from the baseline. And it was Dyson Daniels who played the hero by surprising Nando de Colo too easily to score the killer layup (83-82).
Victor Wembanyama has one last shot but it's too complicated. For the Blues, it's a fourth consecutive defeat that ends their preparation for the 2024 Olympics. Of course, it's only by one point…
Now, the Blues have a date with Brazil, on Saturday July 27 at 5:15 p.m., for their entry into the competition during the Olympic Games. It will be in Lille.
