By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
France resisted Lithuania’s comeback in the second half and will keep fighting undefeated for a spot in the quarter-finals, with a 78-75 victory that was decided in the last seconds.
Lietuva will have to bid goodbye to their tournament on Monday, as they face the Dominican Republic (2-2) in their last game. At the same time, as France held off their opponents, Australia registered a spot in the next round.
A missed free throw by Jonas Valanciunas (18 points) and a great defensive rebound by Andrew Albicy (3 points) gave Nando De Colo (21 points) the chance to put France ahead by three with 15 seconds to go.
The Lithuanian squad was furious after the game as during Valanciunas’ missed free throw, Rudy Gobert interfered with the ball and while doing it hit the rim which should be illegal. The basket would count and it would tie the game at 76.
“We started the game in the right way, I was very happy with our first half. It was difficult until the end, but we found two good shots in the end. I think if you see the game as a whole, we deserved this win”, commented Vincent Collet.
The big star for Les Bleus was once more Evan Fournier, who paced his team’s efforts with a 24-point performance, along with three assists.
France will face Australia on Monday, to determine the winner of Group L, before heading to the next round.
Game Highlights:
Photo credit: FIBA.basketball