M’Baye and Okobo, two Bordelais start the Euro with the France team

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Hostile start for the Blues, at the European basketball championship. The France team attacks the adventure this Thursday (8:30 p.m.) against Germany, in front of the German public, in the Cologne hall. This is the start of the pool matches, where you will have to finish in the top four of a tough six-game pool, with Slovenia, Lithuania, Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Hungary. In the event of qualification, the Blues would then take the road to Berlin, the place of the direct emanation phase where the final will be played on the 18th. winger Amath M’Baye and point guard Elie Okobo.

At 32, Amath M’Baye will play his second major competition with the France team, after the 2019 World Cup, where the Blues finished third. Package for the Olympics last year, the strong winger does not start, given the emergence of Guershon Yabusele. But he can bring his ability to score by leaving the sidelines. Trained at JSA Bordeaux, M’Baye was therefore retained despite a difficult preparation (zero points in the first three preparation matches). He will then join the Turkish club Efes Istanbul, winners of the Euroleague, the biggest European competition, the last two years.

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Eight years younger, and also born in Bordeaux, Elie Okobo will play his first international final phase. Absent from the 2019 World Cup, for which he had participated in the preparation, then from the Olympics, Okobo is surfing on his good 2021/2022 season. Champion of France with ASVEL, he was even named best player in the final. He should start the Euro on the bench, and bring energy to the positions of leader and back, taking over from holders Thomas Heurtel and Evan Fournier. The future Monaco player, also trained at JSA Bordeaux before the revelation at Pau-Orthez and a stint in the NBA, intends to shine for his first campaign in Blue.

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Despite their silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics last year, the Blues are not favorites in the competition, which is played in four countries (Georgia, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic). Two of the holders in Japan are not there, the captain Nicolas Batum and the guarantor of the game Nando De Colo having decided to forfeit. Evan Fournier and Rudy Gobert, promoted captain and vice-captain, will therefore be the leaders of the France team. Opposite, three NBA superstars, the Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Slovenian Luka Doncic and the Serbian Nikola Jokic responded, making their selections favorites for the title.

The calendar of the Blues

First round (in Cologne, Germany)

  • Thursday 1 September (8.30 p.m.): France – Germany
  • Saturday September 3 (5.45 p.m.): France – Lithuania
  • Sunday September 4 (8.30 p.m.): France – Hungary
  • Tuesday September 6 (2.30 p.m.): France – Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Wednesday 7 September (5.15 p.m.): France – Slovenia

In case of qualification, final phase in Berlin, Germany

  • Saturday September 10: Round of 16
  • Tuesday September 13 or Wednesday September 14: quarter-final
  • Friday, September 16: semi-final
  • Sunday, September 18: final


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