Chosen in the first two places of a historic draft for France on June 26, Zaccharie Risacher (Atlanta) and Alexandre Sarr (Washington) had led the Blues under-17s on the podium of the World Cup in 2022 (third), alongside Pacôme Dadiet, also drafted last week (by the Knicks). Two years later, their successors have not done as well.
Cited among the favorites of the competition, they even disappointed, eliminated in the round of 16 by Puerto Rico (84-91) on Wednesday. Although largely dominant on the rebound (51 to 30), Lamine Kébé’s players sinned through clumsiness (38.4%, 3/24 on three-pointers) and did not find an answer against Felipe Quinones, author of 42 points. Only the Bosnian Dzanan Musa (50) had done better in the history of the U17 World Championship.
