By Rigas Dardalis/ dardalis@eurohoops.net
Even without Tony Parker, even at the home court of Spain, even with the odds against them, France got the 65-52 win and the ticket to the semifinal of FIBA World Cup, leaving the hosts of the tournament out. Led by Boris Diaw the European champions shocked the favorites.
The French front line more than stood its ground against the Gasols brothers and Serge Ibaka. To be exact Pau Gasol tried (17 p., 8 r.), but his brother Marc had just 3 points on 1/7 shots and Ibaka 2 on 1/7 shots also. Diaw had 15 points and 4 rebounds as the French team completed the game with a 50-28 rebound advantage over the Spaniards, who scored just 9 points in the last quarter against 25 by the winners. Spain had just 2/22 three pointers in total.
As French center Rudy Gobert who finished the game with 13 rebounds and 5 points said: “Spain had everything to lose. They have great players, but they are still humans”. In the press conference Pau Gasol mentioned the possibility of not playing again for the national team – “I can’t play until I am 50, nobody knows when the last tournament will be” – however Calderon believes that this tournament is not the end for the current version of Spanish national team: “The French played better, they defended better and they made their shots. Maybe the injury of Pau and the fact that Marc had to travel to Barcelona after becoming a father affected us. However I don’t believe that this is the end of the current team”.