Facing an inferior team on paper, and despite consistent playing stages, Vincent Colette’s men signed a conservative first quarter.
The collective rise in strength is gradual, but the disadvantages can be identified very quickly: 0/7 from 3 throws, but also 4 ball losses (for 4 assists). In general, France lacks toughness at the start of this match, especially in defense, and only indicates +5 after the first 10 minutes (25-20).
In terms of rotation, we note that Theo Malidon and Eli Okubo are the first to come off the bench, instead of Thomas Huertel and Timothy Lowow-Caparrot, before Frank Ntilikina in turn returns to a lineup with three leaders.
The start of the second quarter was more satisfactory, as the French team raised its tone in defense and quickly signed the first half at +12 (37-25), under the impetus of the substitutes, especially Franck Ntelikina and Vincent Poirier. But the French, after a break from the Netherlands, did not take advantage of this “momentum” in the second half of the second quarter, returning to their ways from the start of the match.
At the end of the first half in which the substitutes played the most, France were only six steps ahead (45-39).
Back to normal after the break
Returning from the locker room, Vincent Colette provided an extended lane to his holders, who played a bit in the first half and then spent almost the entire third quarter on the floor. And we can see the difference in the score: under Yvan Fournier’s momentum gaining momentum, and a finally stable defense, the Blues paste 26-12 to their opponents in the third act, closing it in with an 18-0!
Despite Yannick Franke’s hot hand, Holland covered the water half an hour later (71-51).
The last quarter is anecdotal as the gap the French dug in the previous chapter is significant. Teams rise to +25 in “garbage time”…
In the final minutes, Vincent Colette brought in Terry Tarbe and William Howard, so that everyone could join in on the celebration. The seat is happy to end the meeting, like this “alley” between Eli Okubo at launch and Isaiah Cordinier at the end.
France finally won by 24 points against a modest team from the Netherlands (89-65), having signed a very big second half with 44 that made us forget a much slower first. Overall, the teammates of captain Yvan Fournier, the game’s top scorer with 15 points, played a convincing match, even if there was still work to be done before they were ready to start the Euros.
The last word for Evan Fournier who was in front of the Bein Sports mic after the meeting.
« It’s always private meetings, because we lack rhythm and automatism. But we have a group that knows each other. We saw some interesting things, but also a lot of growling. But now, the first preparatory matches are being made for it. We have to keep building. »
Next meeting: Friday August 12 in Bologna vs Italy (8:30 pm).
French stats: Yvan Fournier (15 points, 2 assists), Rudy Goubert (12 points, 9 rebounds), Vincent Pourier (11 points, 8 rebounds), Theo Malidon (9 points, 2 assists), Eli Okubo (8 points, 2 rebounds) , 4). pass, pass, pass).
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