By Antonis Stroggylakis / AStroggylakis@eurohoops.net
Nicolas Batum – A.K.A. The savior of France in the Olympic Games semifinal against Slovenia – broke down the sequence that led to his win-sealing block on Klemen Prepelic and his mindset before and during what is now perhaps the top play of his career.
A rejection that took him back in time to his days with the Portland Trail Blazers.
“I see that there are 14 seconds left, that the ball is in the hands of the best attacker (Luka Doncic) in the world at the moment, good,” Batum said per L’Equipe. “Timothe [Luwawu-Cabarrot] makes a good switch, Doncic gives the ball, I see [Klemen] Prepelic and I say to myself, ‘No no no, I have to make this stop’. It must have been five years since I had made a block like that, since my Portland years. I knew I was going to have it. I am happy to experience this and bring it to France. I had to make up for everything I’ve been doing for a while.”
Since 2009 when he debuted with the senior national team, Batum has won multiple medals in EuroBasket and World Cup competitions. In the 2014 World Championship, he was named to the All-Tournament Team after finishing with 14.6 points and scoring 27 in a win over Lithuania in the third-place game.
A spot on the Olympic Games podium was something that Batum was previously missing, until he swatted Prepelic to secure at least the silver medal for him and the rest of the French squad. It will be the first time in 21 years and the second overall that France celebrates an Olympic medal.
Batum hopes that this outstanding defense has redeemed him from some disappointing outings he’s had with France and eliminated these bitter moments from memory.
“I had good matches with the French team, but I have the impression that we remember too much of my rotten matches,” Batum said. “My three free throws (editor’s note: In a semifinal loss to Spain in the 2015 EuroBasket that was held in France), Spain in 2016, the [World Cup] semifinal against Argentina. Does this block erase everything? Please, yes. I think it makes up for the mistakes I made. I had to do it. I didn’t have a big game. I stick my tongue out a bit, I haven’t been in it. In the second half, I was more aggressive on Luka (Doncic), taking him off-road, making him work.”
The French team will return back home with a medal. The color of it will be decided in Saturday’s Final against a Team USA that overpowered Australia to get to the title game.
In order to win a first-ever gold medal for the French basketball team, Batum and the rest of Les Bleus will need to overcome the revenge-seeking USA for a second time in two weeks after the victory in the Olympics opener. Gregg Popovich’s players are looking for payback not only for this recent defeat but mainly for USA’s eliminating loss in the 2019 World Cup quarterfinals.
Batum realizes that it’s going to be a battle unlike any other.
“There’s still a game to be played,” Batum said. “We must not make the mistake we made ten years ago (editor’s note: the 2011 EuroBasket) for example, when we beat Russia and had a ‘non-performance’ against Spain in the Final. It’s not going to be obvious. It’s a team that we have beaten twice in a row, which has a multitude of stars. It’s not the same as two weeks ago, that’s for sure. They have picked up their pace. It’s less impossible than before, but it will be hard. They will be ready…. It’s up to us to be ready, to fight.”
Photo: FIBA