The French team, Olympic vice-champion in Tokyo, uncomfortable before the break, finally easily won against the Netherlands (89-65) on Sunday at the Palais des sports in Rouen for its first match of preparation for the European Championship (1-18 September).
The star duo, the rear Evan Fournier, who honored his first captaincy, and the pivot Rudy Gobert, carried the French collective by accumulating respectively 15 points and 12 points plus 9 rebounds for the second.
Irregular until half-time (45-39), Vincent Collet's players accelerated in the second act by inflicting a 25-0 straddling the third and fourth quarters.
The Blues were deprived of three injured players, the pivot Moustapha Fall (thigh) and the 18-year-old interior, Victor Wembanyama (psoas), forfeited for the Euro, and the leader Andrew Albicy (thigh), who left the gathering this week.
Vincent Collet's players will continue with two friendly matches against Italy, which they had beaten in the quarterfinals in Tokyo, on August 12 in Bologna and August 16 in Montpellier.
France will close its series of friendly matches with the reception of Belgium on August 18.
The two qualifying matches for the 2023 World Cup will then take place (the Czech Republic on August 24 and Bosnia and Herzegovina on August 27).
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