France surprises and defeats the United States, the great favorites of Olympic basketball – La Tercera

The United States is always the big favorite in Olympic basketball. It was before and now more, since in 1992 he put together his national teams with NBA players. That is why a defeat of the so-called Dream Team will always be recognized as a surprise. And that’s what he conquered France, by winning 83-76 at the start of Group A of the Tokyo 2020 Games.

The message is clear. Team USA is vulnerable. Although it must be remembered that Booker, Holiday and Middleton, who played in the NBA final, only joined the team in the last 24 hours. In any case, the Gregg Popovich directed painting has enough figures to defeat anyone, with names like Lillard, Adebayo and, especially, Kevin Durant.

Infinite resources stood out in the first quarter, but as the game progressed they were diluted. On the French side, Fournier, a player for the Boston Celtics, was the best, with 28 points. The French team established a very rough game under the table, with their tall men led by Rudy Gobert, another NBA star (Utah Jazz), who is also one of the best defenders in the American league.

If the match went to France, it was mainly because of the conviction of its players. Beyond the fact that the United States woke up in the fourth quarter and went on to dominate by a point, Fournier himself nailed a triple to make the score 76-74 with a minute and a fraction to go. An advantage that the Dream Team could not overcome. He even increased from the free line, thus sealing the great surprise of men’s basketball.

“Basketball is an international sport, there are many good teams in the world, it shouldn’t be surprising. Teams like the French, the Australian, the Spanish … The talent gap has narrowed. France worked well, they were consistent on both sides of the court, it’s as simple as that, ”said Gregg Popovich, coach of the American team.

“We had several advantages of 9 and 10 points, but we lacked a consistent defense, we had many errorsIn offense, in various possessions we did not move the ball, we did not have free shots. You have to understand it, work and move on ”, he added.