Les Bleus stumble against Nikola Jokic’s Serbia in Olympic Games warm-up match

Victor Wembanyama and his teammates lost (67-79) on Friday in Lyon-Décines, in their fourth preparation match for the Olympic tournament.

Second defeat in a row for the Blues. After losing to the Germans (65-70), reigning world champions, on Monday, Vincent Collet’s players were beaten (67-79) by Serbia, vice-world champion, on Friday July 12, at the LDLC Arena in Lyon-Décines. Despite the return of Victor Wembanyama, absent against Germany, the tricolors could do nothing against Nikola Jokic, triple MVP of the NBA, author of 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Having started their match perfectly thanks to a good three-point shot, the Blues initially led (23-18 at the end of the first quarter) before experiencing a big drop in form in the second quarter. Faced with a more aggressive Serbian defense, the Blues only scored nine points compared to 27 for their opponent. A deficit that they were never able to make up for afterwards, against a team that, however, was only playing its first preparation match. With 15 days to go until the start of their Olympic tournament, on July 27, the French team has two matches left, one against Canada on July 19, the other against Australia on July 21, to perfect its preparation.