The beginnings of sluggish matches, the Blues know… But, against Bosnia, which inflicted their one and only defeat before the Euro, Vincent Collet’s men are starting very well. Deja vu perhaps. The five major with the defensive duo Andrew Albicy – Terry Tarpey is renewed and it works rather well with Rudy Gobert (11 pts, 12 rebounds) who sets the tone defensively with two counters almost in quick succession.
The first three-color rotations arrive quickly and the Poirier – Fall duo do damage from the start to pick up at 19 everywhere, with a 7-0 at the end of the first quarter. Well in place in defense, the Blues manage to muzzle the stars Musa and Nurkic while Thomas Heurtel (14 pts, 8 pds, 7 rbds!) seems more and more in legs to go and sanction the spaces in the periphery (19-19) .
A solid first half
The second quarter started precisely on a bombinette from the tricolor leader but Bosnia maintained its tactical choice with a good old zone of families to try to disrupt the beautiful French dynamic. It works a while to take +5, including a big dunk from Nurkic, but the Blues are tightening the screws.
As a good leader, Fournier took over from Heurtel and Yabusele behind the arc and France in turn took a small lead. John Roberson may have managed a superb special slalom to finish on the layup, but Bosnia is indeed in great difficulty to accumulate the points, beaten 25-15 in the 2nd quarter. Little in sight offensively, Albicy sanctions at 3-points and Yabusele confirms his awakening to give a convincing +10 to the Blues at the break (44-34).
The return from the locker room is very favorable to France… against a backdrop of bloopers with several lost balls and missed baskets gags! Whatever, it benefits the Blues who take a dozen points ahead with Thomas Heurtel who recovers a slipped ball from Evan Fournier. More opportunistic, the French take advantage of the fast game to make the gap, but they also fall back into their trap.
A cascade of stray bullets allows Bosnia to catch up, with a 10-0 that puts them completely in the game at the end of the 3rd quarter (52-50).
The executives restore order
Bosnia continued to pose problems for the French attack with their zone defense, with Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot dropping an airball while John Roberson put his forward on the scoreboard. The Bosnians’ 13-0 was finally undermined when Thomas Heurtel found Vincent Poirier in the low post for a big dunk, but Jusuf Nurkic sent two arrows from distance to keep the pressure on.
Without panicking, the French team relies on its executives, including Evan Fournier and Thomas Heurtel who calmly put theirs in the direction of travel. Yabusele and Gobert are also served under the circle to restore order in the house. When Terry Tarpey goes to the dunk, it’s not only the French fans who exult, but also their Lithuanian friends, relieved not to have already been eliminated…
France completed their last quarter with aplomb (29-18) and finally won quite clearly against Bosnia (81-68). Dzanan Musa (14 points at 4/10) and Jusuf Nurkic (14 points at 4/14), even John Roberson at 5/14, were perfectly muzzled. Third success in a row for the Blues who confirm their revival. But it will be necessary to wait for the match against Slovenia to know its final rank…
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