By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
When Italy beat Serbia in the Round of 16, France was watching and they don’t want to see the same scenario repeated in today’s quarterfinal game (14/9, 17.15 CET).
“I played against or with most of the Italian players. When they warm up like that they are very hard to stop”, underlined French forward Amath M’Baye .
With 33 three-point shots attempted on average per game, it’s obvious that Italy leaves and dies on the long-range shot.
“Their transformation during the game is one of the elements of the balance of power”, adds coach Vincent Collet. “They are a team that plays a lot on shooting and so confidence is hugely important. The stakes are high, we must allow a lot of these situations to limit what happened to the Serbs on Sunday.”
On the other hand, France has a lot more size and a very different style of play, which can creates real issues in the paint for Italy and that can produce a totally different game compared to what happend in the previous round.
“We’re going to play to our strengths, they will play to theirs and we’ll see what happens,” warns center Moustapha Fall. “When there are such gaps in matchups, one of the teams will have to impose their style.”
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL