By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After losing to Finland, “Les Bleus” got a crucial 95-87 win. France was amazing for the first three periods against a bad Greek national team which just couldn’t play defense.
The winners led by 12 points at the end of the first quarter (27-15). The half time score was 55-36, but Greece managed to make it a six points game (78-72) with six minutes left by playing extreme small ball. The game was finally sealed for France by a three made by Thomas Heurtal (94-85) 48 seconds before the final buzzer.
The star: There’s a long list of French players who had a good game, but the first among equals was Joffrey Lauvergne who scored 21 points – a new personal best with the NT – and also had 9 rebounds.
The threes: The way to stop Greece’s offense is more than simple. Just make them shoot threes. In the game against Iceland in which the pressure was low, Greece shot 50% in threes. Against France, Greece had just 3/17 long range shots until the end of the third. When the shots got in and Greece made 5/8 threes in the last quarter, they came back when it was too late.
Τhe captain: When Greece tried to “steal” the game, French captain Boris Diaw was there to act as the play maker for his team. He still has the experience and the know how to get things done, even if his stat line was just 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists.
On the other hand, Thanasis Antetokounmpo was great again thanks to his energy. He also had 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Giorgos Printezis who was played during the Greek come back as a center scored 22 points.
(Photo credit: FIBA.basketball)