By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
France beat Serbia in Rio by a point, however after the end of the game one of the main subjects of discussion was if this result favors the losing team.
The fourth team in Group A avoids a match up with USA in the semifinal, while the third – which will probably be France – will face the Americans. According to French coach Vincent Collet, Serbia played to win, as he said after the game to the French AFP news agency: “Ethics are important. We are in the Olympics. Ethics have been respected. We have seen it in the last quarter by the way Serbia has conducted and how their players reacted afterwards. Players from both sides have put the effort they were expected on the court. I think our defense has nothing to do with the first game against Australia. the team puts a lot more pressure on the ball and really wants to improve. Our team is back”.
The captain Boris Diaw added: “We did not win a medal. it’s not time to celebrate. We didn’t celebrate against China. So we will not celebrate until we will have a medal around our neck”.
As for a possible semifinal against USA, Joffrey Lauvergne explained that this still is far away: “If we play the Americans and lose, we will still have a chance to win a medal. But until then, there are still many games”.