A diesel start, and finally a very large victory. The France team easily assumed its status as the big favorite on Thursday evening, in Dijon, against Portugal in the context of the double confrontation of the first qualifying round for the 2023 World Cup (94-56). A third victory in three matches in the competition. With the exception of a very sluggish first quarter (15-17, 10th), Vincent Collet’s men played their basketball against an opponent who very quickly displayed his physical limits against the Blues who ended up make a difference by relying on their internal sector.
“It’s a shame that at the start of the match we harvested so many balls”
It still took a good ten minutes of adjustments, the fault of a far too high number of lost balls (9 in the first quarter alone, 18 in total), conceded by the outsiders in particular. Opposite, the Portuguese try to display an interesting defensive aggressiveness, rewarded in attack by their master to play, Diogo Brito (15 points).
The game of rotations was particularly favorable to the tricolors, like Mathias Lessort, back in the international window after a year of absence, and author of a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds). Well supplemented by Louis Labeyrie (15 points) then Mam Jaiteh (10 points) then, the resident of Partizan Belgrade thus helped to free up the outside game. Author of a sluggish start to the match (4 stray balls), Axel Julien, darling of the public since a former resident of the JDA Dijon, thus freed himself over the minutes (8 points, 5 assists) while Isaia Cordinier been invaluable in the percussion (12 points, 7 assists).
81,1 %
The French team finished the game with a huge two-point success, with 30 baskets scored in 37 attempts (81.1%).
Sylvain Francisco (8 pts), newcomer to the list unveiled by Collet before the meeting, achieved a very nice first in selection: a striking entry in defense first, before increasing the gap to 30 units of two winning baskets in the fourth quarter (76-46, 34th). The resident of Manresa (Spain) thus recalled that the reservoir in the France team seems bottomless, a boon for these gatherings in the absence of the French from NBA and Euroleague. “It’s a shame that at the start of the match we harvested so many balls”delivered Collet, a perfectionist, at the microphone of France 4, before acknowledging that his opponents appeared quickly “cooked”.
12
The 12 players of the France team scored at least two points against Portugal.
Portugal and France will meet on Sunday, in Porto (6 p.m.), for a match which should compost the ticket of the Blues for the second qualifying round, where it will be necessary to cross with the hen composed of Lithuania, Bosnia, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. A second phase which will be held in three windows, in August and November 2022, as well as in February 2023.
