By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The semifinal of Spain vs France is expected to be a game for the ages. Or just a chance for a tie. “The Spaniards still have a 3-2 record over us, so we need to win in order to tie them”, said today a smiling Tony Parker.
There’s a rivarly between the two best European teams of recent years, but not bad blood, as Nicolas Batum added playfully: “Each time we face each other, we demonstrate that there’s a lot of love between the two teams”. After all it’s a small basketball world, according to Tony Parker: “I don’t have any rage against Spain. I have a great relationship with Pau Gasol, we often have dinner with our wives. I also respect coach Sergio Scariolo, I have invited him at my home”.
However make no mistake. “Our rivarly started at the Eurobasket 2009 and I expect the French fans to be wild, we will be ready and we need them”, was the message of Nicolas Batum. For Tony Parker: “Spain was at the point we wanted to be, they pushed us to try more every year. My best memory was the win in 2013, it was the beggining for us. My worst was the defeat in the Olympic Games (2012)”.”During many years, Spain was improssible to beat and we play against team that sometimes the press underestimates”, explained Boris Diaw for the difficulties of the game. So France is prepared: “This will be the game in which we will defend like dogs”, stated the “minister of defence” for the French team, Florent Pietrous.