Once again, the Blues are miraculous. Despite numerous ball losses and a missed third quarter, the France team validated its ticket for the last four of the Eurobasket by eliminating Italy in overtime (93-85), Wednesday September 14 in Berlin ( Germany). She will face in the semi-finals, Friday (5:15 p.m.), the winner of the last quarter-final between Slovenia and Poland.
As against Turkey in the round of 16 (87-86 after extra time), the Blues managed to miraculously extricate themselves from the trap set by Italy. The exit was close when Simone Fontecchio increased the gap to seven points two minutes from the end of regulation time (75-68, 38th). It was still there when the latter had two free throws to seal the victory for his team 16 seconds from the gong, (77-75, 40th). The strong winger missed them and Italy may long regret it.
Incredible as against Turkey…#FRAITA @EuroBasket @FRABasketball @CanalplusSport pic.twitter.com/IY3EGJ6dt3
– CANAL + Basket (@CanalplusBasket) September 14, 2022
In the process, Thomas Heurtel equalized five seconds from the final buzzer to send the two teams into overtime (77-77, 40th). The playmaker continued his momentum in the decisive five minutes (six points and two assists in this period, 20 and eight in total) to lead the Blues to another victory which almost flew away.
Thanks to an almost perfect start to the match, Vincent Collet’s men could and should have avoided such an end to the match. A well-placed defense and a devilish three-point address (9/16 at the break) had put the Habs on the right track (33-22, 13th).
But in an astonishing mimicry with the round of 16, the French were completely overwhelmed when they returned from the locker room. Bullet losses (18 in total) – “structural problem of the team”according to Vincent Collet – were sanctioned by a euphoric Italian team, carried by Simone Fontecchio (21 points).
Yet another stray ball from Andrew Albicy allowed the Transalpins to pass in front for the first time in the match just before the end of the third quarter (57-56, 29th). A fatal 10-0 even put the Blues at six points. Except that these Blues like to scare themselves as much as they know how to extricate themselves from it with an extra soul.
If Evan Fournier forced his game offensively (17 points at 6/17 shooting), he fortunately found relays in the last quarter to keep hope alive. Rudy Gobert (19 points and 14 rebounds) confirmed his rise in power and Guerschon Yabusele (15 points) is still as valuable in attack.
The ax did not go far for the France team. Despite its noted and repeated flaws, it is inexorably approaching a fourth European medal in five editions. The room for improvement is huge, it’s the real point of celebration before Friday’s semi-final. It will not be too much in the event of a reunion with Slovenia by Luka Doncic.