France – Israel, the day after: « It’s a learning experience for many, players and staff »

This Sunday, August 31, in their third EuroBasket match, the French team saw their collective play deteriorate as the game progressed. Leading after the third quarter, Les Bleus « lost their footing » according to their coach Frédéric Fauthoux, eventually losing by 13 points (82-69). A damaging result in the race for first place in Group D, but one that can serve as a lesson for the youngest team in the competition, who until then had never lost, either in preparation or at the start of the tournament. The day after the game, while frustration and even anger, particularly from captain Guerschon Yabusele, were visible on players’ faces minutes after the final buzzer, voices were calmer. The French team hopes to have learned from this setback, with the desire to bounce back this Tuesday against Poland. Host of Group D, Igor Milicic’s team remains undefeated in the tournament. However, beating them won’t be enough: a large margin (of… 25 points!) is hoped for to secure first place.

On the eve of a decisive clash against Poland, the French players – from Bilal Coulibaly to Guerschon Yabusele, including Zaccharie Risacher and Mouhammadou Jaiteh – made a clear assessment and showed their determination to bounce back. Head coach Frédéric Fauthoux emphasized the expected adjustments against the zone and the need to rediscover France’s defensive identity.

« We’re disappointed… but we’re moving on »

Bilal Coulibaly didn’t beat around the bush after France-Israel. « We’re still disappointed about the loss, but there are many games in this competition and I think we need to move on… We learned a lot and we’ll try to be better in the next one. » Priority of the day: mastering zone defenses, but generally avoiding static play, without movement, with too many 3-point shots. « We need to focus on that, on that offense. »

In the locker room, there was open discussion confirms the young Washington Wizards player: « Several guys spoke a lot, Guerschon spoke, Matthew (Strazel) spoke, I spoke, the coach spoke… We quickly concluded that there were things to learn and correct. »

Outside shooting, the Achilles’ heel of Les Bleus?

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