three victories in three matches, the French women reassuring less than six months before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Although already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Blues participated in an Olympic qualifying tournament without any challenges for them, this weekend, in China. They won their three matches there.

An Olympic Qualification Tournament (OQT) organized in the middle of the season on the other side of the globe for a selection already assured of competing in the Paris 2024 Games as host country. The Chinese weekend had everything of a trap for the French women’s basketball team. It has not happened. Jean-Aimé Toupane’s players largely won their three matches against Puerto Rico (88-40) on Thursday, China (82-50) on Saturday, and, Sunday February 11, New Zealand (94-39). They are reassured less than six months before the crucial deadline.

A newfound confidence

Three matches, three victories, an average gap of 45 units in their favor: the French have been full of confidence in Asia. Apart from China, 2022 world vice-champion, the opponents faced were certainly nothing insurmountable but the Blues mastered each of the 120 minutes played. Especially since at the 2022 World Cup, and at the 2023 Eurobasket – the first two international competitions of coach Jean-Aimé Toupane -, they had not shown the same ease against teams also supposedly weaker .

In Xi’an, the teammates of captain Sarah Michel-Boury displayed an attractive offensive game while their performances on this side of the field had been sluggish during their bronze medal obtained at the last Euro, in Slovenia last June. In three matches, they scored 88 points on average (compared to 71.3 at the Euro in six matches) and have, above all, found a good three-point address: 39% (tarnished in particular by the 5/21 against New Zealand) against 32% at the Euro. “Today what the girls did was really great with good defense and sharing the ball in attack”rejoiced the coach after the success against China (82-50).

“I think we are capable of beating everyone if we have this mentality and this defense, which makes the attack more fluid”continued Romane Bernies, in The Team. The defense, the true identity of this team, was also rediscovered and, through its aggressiveness, pushed its opponents to misplace numerous balls (24.6 per game). The Tricolores finished the TQO by conceding 43 points per match compared to 59.3 at the Euro.

A benchmark match

Although important and controlled from start to finish, the victories won against Puerto Rico (88-40) and New Zealand (94-39) would not have had the same flavor without the brilliant blow against China ( 82-50), Saturday. Facing the second nation in the world, France (7th) achieved its best performance of the Jean-Aimé Toupane era, which began in October 2021.

Stifling defensively, and pleasant offensively, to the point of increasing the gap to +43 (80-37, 26th), their players spoiled the Chinese New Year for the organizing country. They made short work of an almost identical selection (10 of the 12 players were present) to the one which eliminated them in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, in September 2022 (85-71). Seven months earlier, the France team had already suffered a heavy setback against this team in the World Cup qualifying tournament (103-70).

“It’s good for confidence. We were already qualified but beating a very good Chinese team was very important for us”savored Gabby Williams. “I think it was our best game in a long time.”admitted Iliana Rupert, in the columns of The Teambefore Alexia Chery puts things into perspective a little: “We know that it won’t be the same thing at the Olympic Games. We shouldn’t get carried away either. But if we stay on these bases, it’s very interesting in terms of values.” A reference match? “I hate this notion”corrected the coach.

The providential return of Johannès

The TQO was above all an opportunity to see Marine Johannès again in the blue jersey, which she had not worn for a year (February 12 against Finland, 82-46). Last summer, his absence from the Euro created controversy and disrupted the progress of the French team throughout the tournament. The reason ? She wanted to go to New York to sign her WNBA contract and thus miss part of the preparation, which the staff had refused, deciding not to select her. It was the second consecutive international competition without the back, since she was injured just before the 2022 World Cup.

“I’ve moved on, we’ve talked a lot since last summer with Jean-Pierre Siutat [le président de la Fédération française de basket-ball], Jean-Aimé and Céline [Dumerc]. We all turned the page together“, she declared before the TQO. She proved it on the field by igniting, as usual, social networks with her offensive talent (14 points and 4 assists on average) and her long-distance skill (12/ 23 three-pointers, or 52%). Coming off the bench to take over the starting five, she scored difficult shots, like the one scored on one foot, on the counter-attack, against China.

Gabby Williams also returned to the blue group after her absence from the Euro following a concussion. Her aggressiveness, both in attack (top French scorer with 16.3 points) and in defense, has done a lot of good for the French team which is still missing another player from Asvel, Sandrine Gruda, all just returned from a long injury.