Basketball: the Blues begin their preparation with a health walk

Seriousness, defense and address. This is what should be remembered from this healthy walk against Tunisia (93-36) Monday, in Pau, in this first match of preparation for the World Cup (August 25-September 10). Les Bleus du basket quickly took the measure of their (weak) opponents and led by 25 points at the break (53-28 MT). No relaxation after the break, on the contrary: they only conceded 2 points in the third quarter, won 22-2, and 8 in total in the second half! The staff even took the time to work on the area at the end, just to optimize the time, when the fate of the meeting had already been decided for a while. No need to fill you with statistics, they are all largely to the advantage of Gerschon Yabusele (18 pts, 4 rbs, 6 wt) and company. It should be noted that France, which returned 50% of its attempts at long distance (15/30), took advantage of the 23 losses of Tunisian balls.

Enough to put a smile on the crowded Palais des Sports de Pau and put Les Bleus on the right track. Beyond the numbers, there were also some tasty dunks and a jewel-shaped reverse pass from Nando De Colo (10 pts), back after missing the 2022 Euro campaign, for Rudy Gobert (11 pts , 8 rows).

Obviously, no bluster in the French ranks. “We knew it wasn't even Tunisia… normal, let's say, there were a lot of young people, they were weakened, it's a bit of a shame, agreed Vincent Collet on beIN SPORTS. But in the positive points to remember, we really shared the ball, made an effort. Since the beginning (of the rally), we have insisted a lot on playing behind the picks, in order to favor the movement of the ball which we had not managed to find last year, except on rare occasions. There has already been a real effort to share”, he savors again, while Gobert said he was “very happy” with the performance of the Blues. “We wanted to get into good habits. The preparation will be short, so every minute counts”, notes the pivot of Minnesota, on France 4, adding that he is “never there halfway”. Remember that the Picard hesitated for a time for the 2023 campaign. “When I am there, I am there”, he smiles again.

Besides Yabusele, Gobert and De Colo, a fourth French player has signed a double-digit points total, Yakuba Ouattara, with his 12 units. It should be noted that Yves Pons celebrated his first selection in Blue, he who temporarily compensates for the absence of Mathias Lessort, spared. The new player from Girona officiates as a training partner within this France group, which has been meeting since the end of last week in Pau. A group led by a certain Nicolas Batum, author of 7 points on Monday (3/7) and who finds his captain's armband, he who missed the Euro campaign last year. In a complicated situation in New York, Evan Fournier (3 pts) was discreet and lacking in rhythm. No wonder, knowing that the Francilien has been in the closet for many months with the Knicks.

No time to breathe for the France team, which will now take the direction of Montpellier. Training late Tuesday afternoon and second trial run on Wednesday (8:30 p.m.), against Nikola Vucevic's Montenegro. “Now we have to continue. We must not stop at this game. It will already be more complicated on Wednesday. And little by little, the adversity will mount. During this time, we have to progress day by day. Faced with more adversity, we will have to continue to play relatively fair. In the first period, we had a lot of baskets after passes, less in one against one, the ball circulated well and we found solutions. We will have to see if we are able to do that when it will challenge more, ”says coach Collet, at the end of this evening marked by a tribute to the 2013 European champions. 10 of the 12 winners of Ljubljana were present in Pau, except Joffrey Lauvergne and Thomas Heurtel. A beautiful moment of emotion.

France-Tunisia was the first of seven friendly matches for the France team, which will then meet Canada, Latvia and Lebanon in the first round of the World Cup in Jakarta. In the event of qualification, coach Collet's players, third in 2014 and 2019, would cross with the group of Spain and Brazil before thinking of the quarter-finals, in Manila, where the entire final phase will take place. of the competition.

Calendar and results of the Blues in preparation:France-Tunisia 93-36France-Montenegro (2 August in Montpellier)France-Venezuela (7 August in Orléans)France-Lithuania (9 August in Orléans)Lithuania-France (11 August in Vilnius)Japan -France (August 17 in Tokyo)France-Australia (August 20 in Tokyo)