Wednesday evening, the France U20 team validated its ticket for the semi-finals of the European championship at the expense of Portugal (77-35). The Bleuettes will have revenge to take Friday on the Czechs, who beat them in the group stage.
Defeated twice in three group matches, the France U20 team had finally returned to its EuroBasket in the round of 16 the day before against Sweden. On their way, the Bleuettes left nothing to chance in the quarter-finals.
Portugal never saw the light of day, conceding an 8-0 from the start of the game. Above all, Jérôme Fournier’s daughters completely dominated in defence, the – awkward – Portuguese only scoring their first basket after 7 minutes 30 minutes of play! In attack, Aminata Gueye – 8 points, 4 rebounds – was perfectly put into orbit by Pauline Astier (14-8, 10th).
Moreover, the Bleuettes, carried by their collective (13 assists at the break) and despite a relatively weak address (43% at 2-points), were still clearly superior to the Lusitano, without offensive solution in the first half. (35-17).
A revenge to take against the Czech Republic
The second half was a carbon copy of the first, with the added skill on the French side: unchallenged domination. The France team unrolled in the third (58-23), until bringing the final gap in garbage time to + 42 (77-35). The little extra: each was entitled to 10 minutes of playing time.
This victory is undoubtedly a collective work but we can still highlight the individual performances of Aminata Gueye (18 points at 9/9 on shots, 9 rebounds in… 18 minutes), Pauline Astier (6 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals in 19 minutes) or even Sara Roumy (12 points in 19 minutes).
Now in the last four, the Bleuettes will have two matches to leave Hungary with a medal. The first, after a day off, will be a rematch against the Czech Republic, an opponent who beat them in the second group game four days ago (59-54). The second against the winner or loser of Spain – Italy.
Boxscore Portugal U20 – France U20 / Tableau
Photo: Pauline Astier (FIBA)
