
A thunderous fourth quarter and the French U18 team continues winning against Turkey
Lilian Bordron
Adam Atamna (1.95m, 17 years old), expected to be one of the key players of the French U18 men’s team at EuroBasket, will not continue the competition. According to our information, the future ASVEL player had to withdraw after taking a hit to the face at the very beginning of the game against Turkey this Sunday, July 27, during the second pool match.
After an impressive performance against Sweden on Saturday (18 points on 7/10 shooting, 3 rebounds, 5 steals in just 15 minutes), Adam Atamna had set the tone. Karim Atamna’s son is coming off a strong season in Nationale 1 with LyonSO, where he established himself. His mindset and commitment were praised by the French team staff, who counted on him as one of the group’s offensive leaders.
But just 3 minutes into the game against Turkey on Sunday, the young guard had to leave his teammates after taking a nasty hit to the face on a defensive help. Medical examinations conducted immediately afterward confirmed his withdrawal for the rest of the Euro.
Already without combo-guard Soren Bracq – rested after the U19 World Cup – and interior player Noa Kouakou-Heugue, who was also involved in this previous international campaign, the French team will need to reorganize their rotation. At point guard, Maxence Lemoine and Isaac Guedegbe will share responsibilities, while at shooting guard, Bastien Grasshoff (17 points against Turkey) and Tom Audry should see their roles expand.
Despite this setback, France retains serious assets to go far in the competition. However, the absence of such a complete player as Adam Atamna could weigh heavily in key moments.
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