Author of 24 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks, all at 10/14 shooting, Victor Wembanyama was excellent for this first Olympic preparation match. Above all, as Vincent Collet pointed out after the match, he was very serious and altruistic at the start of the match, the “Victor who can take the team very high”.
Victor, how did you feel about this first preparation match which officially launches the Olympic campaign?
Well, even though it's my fifth selection [en Bleus]. Very good. I see that everyone is on the same wavelength in terms of the project. And in the desire to meet the coach's expectations. It's promising.
What did you think of your highly anticipated partnership with Rudy Gobert under the panels, particularly defensively?
We can expect a lot of fun, at least on our side. These are experiments. We experiment. The goal is to build without wasting time. There are no useless matches.
It took Turkey more than 6 minutes to score a basket in the field, what is your first impression of the collective defense?
“It's nice to see that my teammates know me and are aware. It's a strength that we must of course exploit to the full.”
That's clearly the goal. We're within our standards in fact. We've met the coach's expectations. We're starting in the right way to build on the next three weeks, one month. To be ready on D-Day.
You've been gorging on alley-oops all night, had you planned your move?
I haven't played FIBA basketball for a long time, it's nice to see that my teammates know me and are aware. It's a strength that we must of course exploit to the fullest. We used it well today, almost a little too much. [rires].
You hadn't played any official matches for two months, was it difficult to get back into the match rhythm?
Yes, even though I'm in good shape. It's always special. The biggest change was having the audience with us. It feels great. I think they had as much fun as we did, it's satisfying.
Interview conducted in Rouen
