The Blues won 89-79 against the Americans in the quarterfinals of the World Cup basketball. They will face Argentina in the semi-finals on Friday.
The France team has achieved the greatest feat of recent history by eliminating the United States and their NBA players in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, Wednesday, September 11. In Dongguan, the Blues won 89-79 against a diminished American team, but composed of several stars of the best world championship.
The Blues will face in the semifinals on Friday, the team of Argentina, who created the first sensation of the quarterfinals on Tuesday, eliminating Serbia.
To avoid spoiling, France also qualified directly for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the wake of Australia's victory against the Czech Republic in the afternoon.
Rudy Gobert, the pivot of the French team, master of the racket and finally became a major offensive weapon, was the major architect of the French victory (21 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks). Evan Fournier (22 pts), in the first period, and Nando De Colo (21 pts), in second, also brought their ecot while the young Franck Ntilikina muzzled the American star Kemba Walker in defense.
"We showed tonight a lot of determination. It was very hard when ironed in front, we were physically short. In the match against Australia (lost 100-98, Monday)we were not ourselves, recognizes Evan Fournier, the back of the Blues. Tonight, we defended ourselves like dogs. That's why we won. (…) This is how we will be world champions. "
"Since the beginning of the competition, we say we came to win. We made a huge mistake in 2014 after the match against Spain (victory in the quarter-finals followed by a defeat against Serbia in the semi-finals). We do not want to do the same again. "
Rudy Gobert, author of a full match, savored: "It will be one of the games I will remember. (…) Our goal is not to beat the United States, but to win the World Cup. We will play a team from Argentina that is very strong. It is up to us to prepare, rest and study their game to win. "
Big defensive passage
France has long mastered the team of Gregg Popovich, legendary American coach, to lead 10 points in the middle of the third quarter. She then suffered the furia of Donovan Mitchell (31 points) and was led by 7 points seven minutes from the end of the match. A big defensive pass allowed him to get back to the Americans three minutes later then to widen the gap and keep Team USA at bay until the final whistle.
This is the second consecutive semi-final for the French team, which lost in 2014 at this stage against Serbia. His best result in the world is the final of the 2000 Olympics lost to the United States.
For the Americans, on the other hand, it's a bitter failure. Three Olympic champions and two reigning world champions, they sign their first defeat in a major international tournament since their defeat in the semi-finals of the 2006 World Cup against Greece.
Deprived of their NBA superstars, the men of Gregg Popovich, the legendary coach of San Antonio, had already experienced two alerts in recent weeks: the first against Australia in Melbourne (98-94), in preparation match, and the second against Turkey in the first round of the Chinese World Cup, a match they won thanks to the clumsiness of the Turks to free throws in the final seconds.
