Among the twelve players originally selected by Vincent Collet to compete in the Basketball World Cup which will begin on August 25, ten have already played in an international game under his orders. A generation he knows well, who knows how to win, but who also lost too close to the goal not to have great ambitions.
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Why change a winning team (almost)? For the 2023 Basketball World Cup, torn between Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines, and which will stretch from Friday August 25 to September 10, Vincent Collet, the emblematic coach of the Blues, will not be out of place despite the trip.
And for good reason, among the twelve players originally selected to go on an adventure with him, ten have already participated in a major international competition in the blue jersey. And also under his orders. The bronze gleaned at the 2019 World Cup, the bitter-tasting silver of the Tokyo Olympics, second place in Euro 2022 with the scent of defeat… Those who will attack the competition against Canada on Friday have almost all already known the joy of a charm, just like the disappointment of feeling that gold was at hand.
Invariable frames
” At the 2019 World Cup, which was a starting point for this group, the idea was that we weren’t expected, we had to surprise, robrecalled Vincent Collet at a press conference. At the Olympics, two years later, we had more guarantees in terms of our abilities, our game. We had to be ambitious. It’s a bit the same thing this time, we know more about what we are capable of. »
Capable men, the staff of the Blues will have available. Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier, Noicolas Batum and Nando De Colo (more than 500 selections between them), are experienced in international games. And this generation will be accompanied by elements who have proven themselves like Terry Tarpey, whose overflowing activity was invaluable during the last Euro, or even Guerschon Yabusele, who is starting to have bottle on the international scene.
If the injury of Frank Nkitilina, the leader / back of the Hornets, during the preparation match against Lithuania (76-70), cast a small shadow on the board, Vincent Collet is largely satisfied with the group at his disposal. And even a little more, since what he observed during the weeks of preparation delighted him: ” This is out of all proportion to last year, and even compared to previous years. We have reached a milestone, that’s very good. »
An opinion shared by the pivot Moustapha Fall, who does not sulk his pleasure in joining this collective: “ Games (from Tokyo), we were playing well, but it still wasn’t as smooth “, he assures.
Medals are good, gold is better
Three international competitions, three charms, two of which are silver. On its last major outings, the France team has always held its rank. Even when the level of play was not there, like the last Euro. But this generation has the fangs.
In view of the tears of Rudy Gobert after the defeat against Team USA in the final in Tokyo, and of an Evan Fournier who had sworn in ” getting tired of silver medals After the loss to Spain in the Eurobasket final last summer, the goal will be nothing but world gold.
The medals, ” it’s the ransom of previous years, so we’re not going to complain about it “, tempered Vincent Collet. ” But it shouldn’t become a norm for everyone because it’s not that simple “, he specifies.
Still, if you ask the coach what he dreams of accomplishing during his trip to Asia, the answer is simple: “ We come out of three competitions where we are medalists, so we don’t want to stop and we would like to go even higher. A way of announcing that France is aiming for gold, without saying too much, so as not to incur the wrath of fate, which has been capricious with the Blues in recent years.