By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
BEIJING – It was almost ironic but almost on the same time that Nando De Colo was meeting with the press, Serbia was beating the USA, just hours after the French win over coach Gregg Popovich’s team.
And while France has to focus on the upcoming semifinal against Argentina, De Colo couldn’t but talk the quarterfinal game against the USA: “We felt that the USA was not unbeatable. Of course we had the desire to beat them, but we also had to beat them in order to advance in the tournament. We want to do something good in the FIBA World Cup because we had a bad Eurobasket in 2017 and it’s time for a comeback”.
This comeback can continue against Argentina if France gets focused on the task ahead. “We must not be carried away, it’s a game of controlling our emotions”, added De Colo.
Coach Vincent Collet agreed with his guard: “Basketball is a game which is very dependent on tactics. Every match is different and of course, beating the USA was also about prestige. Now we have a very important game ahead, as important as the game against the USA”.
So expect France to make adjustments against a team, like Argentina, which for sure is much more experienced in FIBA basketball compared to this version of Team USA.
Photo credit: FIBA.Basketball