France dreamed of gold.
She has to make do with the money.
Miraculous against Turkey and Italy, in demonstration against Poland in the previous rounds, the Blues took a lesson in basketball and tactical and technical accuracy on Sunday evening in Berlin, in the final of the Euro, against a surprising Spain (88-76).
“
It's hard.
They were better than us.
They dominated us head and shoulders.
Clearly they were above us.
There is nothing to say
, ”sums up Evan Fournier (23 pts), the tricolor captain having tried everything to allow the Olympic vice-champions to hope.
In vain…
TOPS
Fournier has tried everything
Inside on the offensive level since the start of the tournament, with the exception of his 27-point card against Lithuania, Evan Fournier was present in the final, despite all the attention that the Spanish defense gave him.
And god knows he was not let go … 23 points at 7/14 on shots for the captain, with three rebounds, two assists and an interception as a bonus.
The New Yorker, however, was hampered by fouls (4) and was forced to spend time on the bench in the fourth quarter.
The Blues didn't need that...
Read alsoBasketball: “Clearly, they were above us”, admits Fournier
Heurtel did what he could
Also targeted by the Spanish staff, who understood everything (see elsewhere), Thomas Heurtel tried to rekindle the flame of this long-dominated French team on Sunday evening.
16 points and seven assists to the credit of the former Barça and Real Madrid, with all the same three losses of ball to deplore.
But it would have taken so much more to win...
Tarpey until the end of the effort
Best rebounder in the France team (9) and only player to show a +/- positive (+2), Terry Tarpey gave everything.
His aggressiveness was one of the engines of the start of the tricolor comeback.
Alas, the Manceau obviously had no more juice at the end, like this action where we see him letting Lorenzo Brown slip away at the circle, looking sorry for no longer being able to make the efforts.
No one will blame him, as he has always given everything since the start of the campaign.
“
We weren't playing the final for second place.
In a few years, at the time of retirement, I may say to myself that the agent is not bad.
For me, it will be a source of motivation for me.
I want to continue.
We will still meet Spain, we will always play against them… I am waiting for revenge
”,
.
We are all waiting for it.
Read alsoBasketball: unhappy money and a bitter-tasting Spanish lesson for the overwhelmed Blues
The Okobo Spark
To subscribers absent for a long time from the Euro, discreet in any case, Elie Okobo was revived during the demonstration against Poland (95-54) in the semi-finals.
Good idea from coach Collet, who used the neo-Monegasque very early in the match on Sunday.
Defensively, the person concerned suffered.
His three three-point banderillas, however, did good (9 pts, 3/6 to 3 pts) and helped revive the Blues.
Not enough to dream of victory...
FLOPS
Gobert caught in the storm
Beyond the figures (6 pts, 6 rbs), Rudy Gobert did not have the same impact as usual, strolled by the Spanish mastery in defense and unable to get out of the trap concocted by Sergio Scariolo in offensive.
“
It's up to me to be better.
I did not know how to help my team.
I take the responsibility to come back better
, ”he says.
Its failure is also (and above all) due to the lack of ball handlers in the France team.
Behind Fournier and Heurtel, France was sorely lacking in creativity throughout the Euro and it was even more visible on Sunday evening in the final, against the Spanish team.
To read also "It was a bit like the rock of Sisyphus, you go back up and you take a punishment behind", plague Collet
Mistakes, too many mistakes
«On se rapprochait mais à chaque fois, on refaisait une bêtise, deux bêtises... C'était un peu le rocher de Sisyphe, tu remontes puis tu reprends une punition derrière.» Signé Vincent Collet. Ses joueurs ont en effet multiplié les impairs. Ici une perte de balle (19, pour 35 points espagnols), là un rebond offensif oublié (11-5 pour l'Espagne)... Beaucoup trop face à une équipe d'Espagne qui a récité son basket pendant de larges parties de la rencontre. «Notre problème de tout le tournoi a fini par nous tuer», a encore expliqué le sélectionneur au sujet des pertes de balle. Et d'ajouter : «Les chiffres bruts ne racontent pas tout. Il y a nos faiblesses fondamentales, à la passe et au démarquage mais aussi leur agressivité.
“A class gap between this revamped Roja and these Blues who we thought were favorites.
Yabusele, the Less Dancing Bear
Certainly, Gerschon Yabusele greatly contributed to the closer of the Blues in the second half, when he found his address.
He quickly lost it again... The most regular player in the French team during the rest of the tournament, the Madrid player took far too long to break free on the offensive level, when the Blues took the broth and they needed stitches to breathe.
In the end, he finished with 13 points at 6/11, including 0/3 from afar, with all the same six assists but only a pair of rebounds and above all four loss of ball, out of the 19 of the Blues.
Defensively, he took the tide too often in the face of the Spanish interiors which kept deviating.
The same can be said for Vincent Poirier (4 pts) or Mous Fall (0 pts), the latter having spent only seven minutes in the game.
Read also "It hurts", "it's hard": beaten in the final, the inconsolable Blues
Albicy at fault
Poor Andrew Albicy did not have the opportunity to bring what was expected of him in this match, rotting the life of Lorenzo Brown (14 pts, 11 rbs).
And for good reason, the leader of Gran Canaria quickly suffered his second fault.
He finally spent only 13 minutes on the Berlin floor and was not used at the end (3 faults).
Frustrating.
The Hernangomez brothers in Gasol mode, Scariolo in maestro
Pau and Marc who?
For one match, Willy and Juancho Hernangomez made the Gasol brothers forget.
Or rather, Juancho and Willy.
For once, the eldest, MVP of the Euro and author of 14 points and eight rebounds in the final, remained in the shadow of his younger brother (28 and 26).
The latter had the game of a lifetime, with 27 points and seven long-range successes out of nine attempts.
Unplayable… Five rebounds and two bonus steals for the Raptors player, MVP of a Spain who “
recited his basketball
said Fournier, with the naturalized Lorenzo Brown (14 pts, 11 wt) in charge.
The major trio of La Roja on Sunday.
With 13 points and 3/4 from long distance, Jaime Fernandez also posed many problems for the Blues, while the eternal Rudy Fernandez (7 pts, 2/3 to 3 pts), the last survivor of the Spanish golden generation, is out of his box at the right time, as a jailer, as an executioner.
The big man of this final was however on the Spanish bench.
Sergio Scariolo as a maestro.
“
They are champions for a reason, they managed to bring out the weak points of all the teams, including us
“Plague Fournier.
Prize list of the 61-year-old Italian coach?
Four Euro titles (2009, 2011, 2015, 2022) and a bronze medal (2017), world champion (2019), silver medalist (2012) and bronze medalist (2016) at the Olympics.
Who says better ?
