By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Evan Fournier is a different player with the French national team and that was evident with him scoring 20 points as France got the 80-69 win over Montenegro.
Rudy Gobert added 16 points and nine rebounds for the winning side, while for the losing side, Fournier’s old friend from Orlando Nikola Vucevic had a solid double-double (11 p., 11 r. 5 as.).
Elie Okobo with 12 points was the third scorer in double digits from the home side.
France got a 21-15 lead in the first quarter and pretty much kept it until the end, extending it in the final quarter.
Nikola Ivanovic with 12 points was the top scorer of Montenegro, while Petar Popovic scored 10 points. With the game played in Montpellier, France, the guests had an off-night in outside shooting with just 4/22 attempts.
Once more France didn’t have EuroLeague standout Mathias Lessort in their active roster with Yves Pons temporarily replacing him, as he is recovering from an ankle injury.
Gobert makes the first three of his career
On an interesting side note, Rudy Gobert registered his first made three-pointer in his career.
“Tonight, I have the impression that I lost my virginity”, he said afterward jokingly.
Rudy Gobert à 3 points 😳
On vous avait prévenu 😏#TeamFranceBasket | #PassionnémentBleu | #FIBAWC | #FRAMNE pic.twitter.com/FYtV9r8kH1
— Équipes de France de Basket (@FRABasketball) August 2, 2023
On a more serious note, he added: “It’s something I work on a lot. Every year, with work, my confidence increases. I got to the level where I know I can take threes in games. I just have to take them. My teammates trust me. I will continue to take them. Most fans don’t know what’s going on outside of games. Inevitably, they may be surprised that the players are working on things that they don’t do on the court. But before showing it on the court, you have to work on it”.