By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
PARIS, France – After winning everything there is to win this season in Europe on a club level with Panathinaikos Athens, France center Mathias Lessort now aims to reach the highest achievement an athlete can celebrate: Becoming an Olympic Games gold medalist.
“Of course, we can [win the gold],” Lessort said. “We are in the final of the Olympics. We are not here by luck. We are here because we deserve it. Whoever we will face in the final, we will go out there and fight and try to make it as hard as possible for them to beat us. Just give everything we have on the court.”
France advanced to the Finals of the Olympics basketball tournament by beating Germany. They had to overcome a rough start before establishing a lead and then repel a comeback by their opponents in crunch time.
“Obviously we didn’t start the game the best way, but we keep believing that there was in our hands and we controlled our destiny,” Lessort said. “We knew what we did in the good. We just had to be more impactful, impose our style, impose our physicality. That’s what we did for the other 35 minutes and we got what we wanted.”
Lessort praised France coach Vincent Collet for his adjustments in the lineup. The big man took advantage of the increased responsibilities he got from his coach, something he knew was going to happen.
“He made a great adjustment. He’s been coaching amazing lately,” Lessort said on Collet. “He told me that my minutes would probably increase in the next game so I had to be ready. I was ready. I’m always ready to try to help my team and give everything I have when I get on the court.”
One of the key aspects of the win for France was the defense on German star Franz Wagner. The Orlando Magic forward had seven points in the first quarter and was limited to finishing with just 10.
He was averaging 20.8 points in the first four games of the Olympics.
“Scouting,” Lessort said on the plan vs. Wagner. “We watch how we play, we watch how we attack us. We’re trying to don’t give him an open lane or he’s a basket in the paint. We know he likes to attack. He’s really physical.”
“He’s a great player obviously,” Lessort added. “He made some big shots at the end of the game. I could bring the breath in the game. We stayed solid. We just played differently together. We know that it’s tough to stop him one-on-one and that we have to get everybody involved and be ready to help each other. Have each other’s back.”
Photo credit: FIBA