EUROBASKET. By facing Slovenia this Wednesday, September 7, the Blues offer themselves the possibility of having a more affordable opponent in the event of victory.
By winning against Bosnia after a match on alternating current, the Blues probably had their best match since the start of Eurobasket even if everything was not perfect once again. “It’s a victory that feels good, it was quite complicated, we let them get back into the game but we had to stay focused,” analyzed Guerschon Yabusele.
By facing the Slovenia of the ogre Luka Doncic, the Blues can still hope to finish in first place in the group and face a “more affordable” opponent in the round of 16 of this Euro (Montenegro or Belgium) and avoid Spain or even Turkey. “No, Slovenia is not a final. It’s an important group match, explained Evan Fournier after the match against Bosnia. If we win, we will finish second, it will be the best place for us if Germany don’t lose tonight (they eventually lost to Slovenia). We’ll have to fight.”
- France finishes 1st in its group if: it beats Slovenia and Germany loses against Hungary.
- France finishes 2nd in its group if: it beats Slovenia and Germany beats Hungary.
- France finishes 3rd in its group if: it loses against Slovenia.
The calendar of this Eurobasket is organized in two highlights, first the group stage which will be played from September 1 to 8, before the final phase until September 18. The round of 16 will thus be organized on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September, the quarter-finals on Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 September, the semi-finals on Friday 16 September. Finally, the match for third place and the grand final are scheduled for Sunday, September 18, at 5:15 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. respectively. As for each basketball competition, the pace is quite high since only one day of rest is planned for example between the 8th finals and the 1/4 finals, and between the 1/4 finals and the 1/2 finals.
- WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 7
- 1:30 p.m. : Turkey – Spain (Canal+ Sport 360)
- 5:15 p.m. : France – Slovenia (Canal+ Sport 360)
- 8:30 p.m. : Hungary – Germany (Canal+ Sport 360)
- THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 8
- 5:00 p.m. : Estonia – Greece (Canal+ Sport 360)
- 9:00 p.m. : Serbia – Poland (Canal+ Sport 360)
This 2022 European Basketball Championship is organized in four groups of six teams, the first four of each group then qualifying for the round of 16. It was at the end of the draw, which took place on April 29, 2021, that the distribution of these hens was established. Small particularity: each of the four organizing countries could choose one of its adversaries/partners. The Czech Republic opted for Poland, Georgia for Turkey, Germany for Lithuania and Italy for Estonia. The France team inherited a strong group with in particular Slovenia of Luka Doncic, Germany and Lithuania of Domantas Sabonis. See the group ranking.
- Pool A: Spain, Russia, Turkey, Georgia, Belgium, Bulgaria
- Pool B: FranceLithuania, Slovenia, Germany, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Pool C: Greece, Italy, Croatia, Ukraine, Great Britain, Estonia
- Pool D: Serbia, Czech Republic, Poland, Finland, Israel, Netherlands
After its magnificent silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, the French basketball team is back for a new major competition at Eurobasket 2022. Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier and all the Blues are aiming for a second European title after 2013 where they won the final against Slovenia. For this 41st edition of the European championship, Vincent Collet will have to do without two of his executives, Nicolas Batum and Nando De Colo. The coach of the Blues will give his final list for Eurobasket 2022 on July 29.
The France team inherited the “group of death” in this Euro with Germany, Lithuania with their NBA interiors Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valenciunas but also Slovenia where Luka Doncic and his teammates will want to take their revenge on the Bleus after elimination in the semi-finals of the Olympic Games. During the draw on April 29, 2021, Jacques Commères, the director of performance and the French teams, returned to this raised Pool B: “We will play against very experienced teams. This group B is very dense. We will have to be ready from the start. Given this table, the big challenge is to succeed in climbing to the first two places in our group to avoid much more delicate crossings in the round of 16 and/or in the quarter-finals.”
The list of 17 players selected for the preparation of Eurobasket 2022 : Andrew Albicy, Thomas Heurtel, Théo Maledon, Frank Ntilikina, Evan Fournier, Isaïa Cordinier, Élie Okobo (playmakers), William Howard, Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot, Terry Tarpey (wingers), Victor Wembanyama, Guerschon Yabusele, Amath M’ Baye (strong wingers), Rudy Gobert, Moustapha Fall, Vincent Poirier, Mouhammadou Jaiteh (pivots).
The TV broadcast of this European basketball championship will be provided by Canal+ Sport. Eurobasket 2022 will be the last competition broadcast on Canal+ Group channels. If France Télévisions will continue to broadcast the matches of the French men’s team, BeIn Sports has reached an agreement to broadcast the next major competitions of the French men’s and women’s teams.