By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Paris, France – Moving on from team struggles in Lille, France defeated Canada and Germany in Paris to advance to the gold medal game of the men’s tournament of the 2024 Olympic Games.
Battling the United States in the final is far from a first for multiple players, including Evan Fournier.
“We beat the USA in 2019. We were fighting against them in Tokyo,” the 31-year-old swingman referred to meetings between France and the United States, the triumph in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, and a losing effort in the gold medal game of the 2020 Olympic Games, “We have been good.”
“I think we know that France has a lot of potential, but the potential has got to go on the court. We have to be able to play team basketball,” he added.
A veteran of two Olympics, three FIBA World Cup campaigns, three EuroBasket runs, and more, Fournier has been part of history-making success for the senior national team of France over recent years. “How good these guys are going to be in five years, it is up to them,” he talked about the future of Les Bleus, beyond his remaining contributions.
Averaging 10.2 points, 2.2 assists, 1.4 rebounds, 0.4 steals, and 0.2 blocks per contest, Fournier is among the key players for head coach Vincent Collet in the Olympic tournament.
“We started the game offensively, kind of like how we did against Canada. We were the same in some ways. But it was not working in this lineup, so we had to switch up. We went back, we had to play differently, more inside, more below the post area. We had to be able to play all that,” he described the effort versus Germany on Thursday, “We started to play better after focusing on our intensity and rebounds.”
Photo Credit: FIBA