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Next game will be against Turkey tomorrow at 12pm CET (5am CST).
Turkey is a very good team but they aren't fighting for a WC spot and have 16 hours between their loss in OT today and tomorrow game. This game is winnable.
I am very impressed with Bokolo. He changes the complexion of the game when he's in there. His defensive pressure is really intense. I know he's not a scorer nor a FT shooter, but the guy rebounds, he hustles, he's pretty fast, and he's shown he can finish on the break.
Excellent role player and difference-maker for any team.
Next game will be against Turkey tomorrow at 12pm CET (5am CST).
Turkey is a very good team but they aren't fighting for a WC spot and have 16 hours between their loss in OT today and tomorrow game. This game is winnable.
Win and your in, correct?
correct sir
don't need to be sorry. That was hilarious. and i don't think boris wasted many breakfast lately considering his fat ass
16 hours between 2 games is just ridiculous !
A lot of things are ridiculous in this Eurobasket: schedule, format of the compe ion, referees...16 hours between 2 games is just ridiculous !
Aside of that, I've found the level of this Eurobasket weak.
Come on FNT, Turkey has some strong big men, That's the biggest trouble for France. Now France lead by two.
FNT win 80-68 and is qualified for the 2010 WC.
They started damn bad the game and were down by 19 points in the second quarter. They come back to lead the game by 17 points before garbage time against Turkey that should be tired and not that motivated. TP played great after a slow start.
The bad news of the day is that Boris sprains his ankle. NBA season starts in two weeks, let's hope it's nothing serious.
The last game will be tomorrow at 12pm CET against the winner of Russia/Croatia for the 5th/6th place. It's a meaningless game.
Pfffffffffffffittttt !
They scared the out of me !
First quarter and a good part of the second were just nightmare !
Huge Diot who started the momentum and TP of course (28 pts 10 ass)
I also think that the Turkish team was tired after the half.
World championship, here we are !
France win. TP had a great game. France came back from a double digit deficit.
Very nice comeback win for the FNT.
Even though tomorrow's games against Croatia/Russia winner has little meaning, a win will give them an 8-1 record for Eurobasket 2009. With the lone loss coming to Spain, this summer marks a great improvement over the past two summers, as well a good foundation for 2010.
BTW, is there ever any discussion about FIBA changing their tournament format to ensure that teams excel in the preliminary rounds are rewarded with a favorable matchup in the first knockout game?
You got the 4th team from other group, what more do you want?
What about first teams choose the opponent they want for the QF
I assume you are joking.
Spain was 4th because they cruised into the tourney knowing they only had to make the QFs and then play a 3 game tournament. Surely there are compe ion formats that would make such strategies painful.
I can suggest one. Instead of two rounds of three games each to get to the final eight, how about this?
Two eight-team groups to start. Teams play the other teams in their group for a 7-game first round. The first two teams in each group advance to the semifinals, the next two teams in each group advance to the 5-8 classification.
The current format allows teams to give less than their best effort early and even has teams losing on purpose to improve their chances.
And I don't say this as a French NT fan. I'm a Spurs fans who follows these tourneys in the offseason and pulls for the teams with past, current, and future Spurs connections. So I am pulling for Slovenia as well. I just think there must be better ways to seed the final eight teams than the current format.
Interesting article about the new generation of french players.
http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/coi...leMode_on.html
France Future Upbeat
18 September 2009
By David Hein
Disappointment has surely already set in deep for France, who once again failed to capitalize on loads of talent in losing to Spain in the EuroBasket 2009 Quarter-Finals.
But France still can qualify for the 2010 World Championship and Poland 2009 saw the glimpses of France's two golden generations mixing together for the first time, giving Les Bleus fans plenty of hope to finally celebrate the nation's first-ever men's senior side European Championship.
Tony Parker, Boris Diaw and Ronny Turiaf captured the gold medal together at the U18 European Championship in 2000. And Nicolas Batum and Antoine Diot were part of a historic French generation which won U18 Euro gold in 2006 and U19 worlds bronze in 2007.
Batum and Diot are just two high level youngsters who have crashed down the door to the French senior side. And their NBA elders have welcomed the young corps with open arms.
"I love the new guys. It's very refreshing. They are very motivated. I'm happy to play with them," said Parker.
"They had high expectations because we set the bar very high. They used that as motivation and now they are playing with us and playing with great energy for us. I think it's a great mix between both generations and hopefully we can get some great results with both generations."
"I think they're coming along great. They definitely are very good. They are playing really well at a young age and are showing signs that they are already mature and they will help us a lot," said Diaw.
Turiaf meanwhile added: "I love those guys. I tell them all the time that I love them. They bring so much joy and so much enthusiasm. Some times we need that."
Batum and Diot built up nearly legendary status on their way through the junior ranks to rising to the senior side.
After helping France win the U16 European gold in 2004, the small forward Batum then captured MVP honors in leading Les Bleus to U18 gold in 2006. A year later Batum was one of the leaders on the team that grabbed bronze at the 2007 U19 World Championship.
"I'm just going to follow these guys. They are good players who are used to playing in big tournaments," said Batum of the NBA trio.
"We have had a lot of success so we are used to playing at a high level already. That helps. And now we just want to keep winning."
But Batum was far from the only emerging star from the successful France generation from 1986 to 1989.
Also coming from Batum's 1988 age group was 7-foot center Alexis Ajinca, who is not in Poland but like Batum drafted by the NBA in the spring of 2008 and played as a rookie last season with the Charlotte Bobcats.
Ajinca was a part of all the same successful teams with Batum. Also on the 2006 U18 Euro gold medal team and 2007 U19 worlds bronze-winning side were 1989 generation members Edwin Jackson and Diot as well as Adrien Moerman (1988).
Jackson and Moerman both were cut from Vincent Collet's training camp for Poland though Jackson helped France to the silver medal at this summer's U20 European Championship.
Diot ended up a member of the 2009 U20 All-Tournament team and now he is making his debut with the senior side after his own strong youth career.
"I am very happy and proud to be here and play with Tony Parker and Boris Diaw. I really learn a lot from them. And I am playing, so it's very good for me," said Diot, who defends Parker in practice and listens to his advice including tips on running the pick-and-roll.
Diot's trophy case includes 2005 U16 Euro silver (as MVP), 2006 U18 Euro gold, 2007 U19 Worlds bronze and 2009 U20 Euro silver.
"We learn from them and they learn from us. So that's good. We won a lot of things in the youth hopefully we can win together," added Diot.
All told, six players are making their senior national team debut for Collet in Poland - the others being Ian Mahinmi (1986), Nando De Colo (1987), Alain Koffi (1983) and Ali Traore (1985).
"It's all part of a learning process. We started young and playing with the youth teams and now we are with the big team. That's what we all always dreamed about - playing for the national team," said Mahinmi, who played six games with the NBA San Antonio Spurs two seasons ago before returning to Europe last season.
"We are all growing but it's great to be growing together too. And it's nice to be around the older guys too, like Tony Parker, Boris Diaw and Ronny Turiaf. It's great to be around them every day and practice with them. I really enjoy it."
French fans hope the mix of two golden generations can bring plenty more success in the future.
France 80-68 Turkey
http://www.eurobasket2009.org/en/cid...69-47-A-1.html
19 September 2009
See You In Turkey
Game Summary
Turning point: France made a furious comeback after the break, going on a 21-9 run to edge in front 53-52 on Tony Parker's banked shot with 4:05 left in the third quarter. It was their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. With the momentum firmly on their side as they started the final frame with a 61-59 advantage, Les Bleus would add to it the rest of the way.
Hero: Tony Parker. He bounced back in impressive fashion after a sub-par performance against Spain in Thursday's quarter-final to lead the way for Vincent Collet's side. The San Antonio Spurs guard led France's furious comeback and made sure to get his team-mates involved as his 10 assists indicate.
Stats: It all came down to turnovers. France had eight in the opening quarter as they fell behind 26-12 and four more in the second period for a 43-32 deficit at the half. Turkey, who turned the ball over just three times in the first two quarters, gave it away eight times in the pivotal third quarter. The Turks finished with 16 turnovers, one more than France.
-----------------------------------------------------------
France came back from a 19 point first-half deficit to beat Turkey 80-68 and clinch their place in next year's World Championship in the first 5th-8th place game in Katowice.
Tony Parker had game-highs of 28 points and 10 assists as he bounced back from a sub-par performance against Spain to lead the way for Les Bleus .
Afterwards, Nicolas Batum was satisfied that his team accomplished what they set out to do.
"Our goal was to make it to the World Championship and we have done just that," said the Portland Trailblazers forward.
"We played a bad first half but we showed more heart and determination after the break. I think we have a talented team with young players and this tournament has allowed us to get experience to the World Championship."
"We did fear that the game could get out of our hands in the first half, but we managed to hit big threes and get a good run going in the third quarter."
Trailing 43-32 at the break, France went on a 21-9 run to edge in front 53-52 on Parker's banked shot with 4:05 left in the third quarter. That gave them their first lead since the opening minutes of the game.
Batum scored Les Bleus' first five points after the intermission and they were soon within one, 52-51, thanks to some patient ball movement which resulted in open three-pointers for Antoine Diot and Boris Diaw.
Parker then edged his side in front with his basket and they were up 59-55 when he fed Florent Pietrus for a corner three. They would not trail the rest of the way.
Turkey made four free-throws courtesy of Kerem Tunceri and Hidayet Turkoglu to tie the game at 59 with 1:07 left in the period before Parker hit a pair of foul shots to put France back in front.
The Turks committed three turnovers inside the last minute of the third quarter - they had nine in that frame alone - and France rode their momentum, using a 17-0 run to go up 76-59 in the final quarter.
Bogdan Tanjevic's men went without a single point for 7:06 between Turkoglu's free-throw late in the third period and Oguz Savas' bucket with 4:20 left to play for a 76-61 deficit.
France head coach Vincent Collet admitted his team got off to a very slow start.
"We didn't have the energy early on. It was like we played yesterday and not Turkey. In the second quarter, we started to step up on defense," he said.
"The second half was much better in terms of controlling the ball. We didn't lose the ball but we made them lose the ball. We shot better in the end too. You cannot be good in this game if you let the other team shoot so much better than you."
Early on, France were within four, 14-10, on a Parker free-throw but Turkey then went on a 10-0 run.
Les Bleus turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter and went without a single point for 4:16, between Parker's free-throw and Pietrus' tip-in with 47 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 24-12.
Omer Anon buried a wing three to give Turkey their first double-digit lead at 20-10 and Turkoglu drove to the basket for a 26-12 lead to end the period.
France continued to struggle early in the second period, giving the ball away on three consecutive possessions and falling behind 33-14 after Semih Erden made a pair of free-throws with 6:27 left in the half.
Collet's men eventually gave their fans a reason to cheer, as Diot and Parker combined for 11 unanswered points to cut the deficit to 39-32 with 52 seconds to go in the period.
But Turkey closed out the half scoring the last four points, Engin Atsur and Omer Asik teaming up for the alley-oop and the center getting a tip-in just before the buzzer for a 43-32 lead at the break.
France had 12 turnovers by half-time, one more than they did at the same stage of the game against Spain. They gave the ball away only six times in the second half.
And it was the other way around for Turkey, who finished with 16 turnovers, 13 of them after the break.
Tanjevic gave credit to France but conceded his team didn't play full out.
"France are one of the best teams in the compe ion. Our team played for maybe 15 minutes. And then we gave up our energy to fight until the end," he said.
There was some bad news for France as they will be without Diaw for the 5th-6th place on Sunday after he sprained his ankle in the third quarter and did not return.
19 September 2009
Quotes France vs. Turkey
Vincent Collet (France Coach):
"We are glad to win this game. Qualification to the World Championship in Turkey was our goal from the beginning, but of course we hoped to advance further. We started today really bad - lacking energy. We stepped up later with our defense and we were much more aggressive, which helped us change this game."
Florent Pietrus (France):
"We wanted to win this game and I have to congratulate my teammates for doing it. We were minus 19, but we still did it and advanced to Turkey next year. We did a great job today, not giving up."
Bogdan Tanjevic (Turkey Coach):
"We had excellent 15-20 minutes, but my players lost all energy and France took over the game. Today we were playing without two key players - Ilyasova and Arslan, we also had a very tough game last night against Greece."
Kerem Tunceri (Turkey):
"We had to play two very good teams in less than 24 hours. We were great for 15 minutes, but our condition was bad later during the game. Also France was making shots against our zone defense. We are sorry to lose, because every game we play to win and we always try to keep fighting."
The last game is against Croatia.
Diaw is out for at least a month with an ankle sprain.
TP won't play tomorrow to avoid injuries. I guess other main players (Batum, Turiaf, Pietrus) will also not play or play very limited minutes. Tomorrow game should be more a scrimmage than a true game.
Parker, France earn spot in ’10 worlds
Spurs point guard Tony Parker scored 28 points and had 10 assists to lead France past Turkey 80-68 on Saturday for a spot in next year’s world championship.
After trailing by as many as 19 in the first half, France battled back to tie the game at 59 late in the third quarter at the European championships. Parker made two free throws to spark a 17-0 run that put the French ahead for good.
“We are so happy to win this game because the first quarter was really tough for us, we were down 20 and never gave up,” French forward Florent Pietrus said. “And we’re so happy because we’re going to the world championship next year.”
France and Turkey lost in the quarterfinals and were playing only to determine the final placings. The top six teams at the tournament automatically qualify for next year’s world championship. Turkey has already qualified as the tournament’s host nation.
Turkey, which was playing less than 18 hours after an overtime loss to rival Greece, ran out of energy against a French team that had one full day off.
“Because of the schedule, in not 24 hours, we played two very tough games,” Turkey guard Kerem Tunceri said. “The first maybe 15 minutes we played great, but after that, because of our condition, we went very bad down.”
Earlier, world champion Spain defeated Greece 82-64 to advance to the European final against Serbia.
The win gives six-time runner-up Spain another shot at its first Euro le. Serbia beat Slovenia 96-92 in overtime behind 32 points from Milos Teodosic.
Spain held Greece scoreless for the first four minutes of the second quarter to open a 34-24 lead that Greece couldn’t get below seven points.
Lakers center Pau Gasol led Spain with 18 points, while Trail Blazers guard Rudy Fernandez added 14.
Croatia earned the other automatic bid for the 2010 worlds, beating defending champ Russia 76-69 behind 18 points and eight assists from Roko-Leni Ukic.
Croatia will play France today for fifth place.
Last edited by duncan228; 09-19-2009 at 11:46 PM.
Thank the basketball gods that this thing is over and Parker wasn't the one to get hurt. I still don't understand why these players risk so much to play in these games but whatever. Congrats to France for looking better than previous years.
Now it's up to Pop to figure out how to give TP adequate rest so that he's strong for the playoff push . . .
TP has taken a big break this summer (2 months and a week without playing or practicing). It's the first time he did that in the past 5 or 6 years.
TP should be fine for the NBA season.
Anyone noticed KBP is back in the house? He's active on the site right now.
Did Ian get to play today?
Nine weeks of rest for ten months of play? That's not much of rest ... especially since he just came off playing two games in less than 24 hours. Add in the travel and the effort he had to give being the best player on his team and I can't believe he's as rested right now as he's been in years past.
My hope is Pop gives him most of October off and that Hill is good enough to keep TP's MPG as close to 30 as possible during the regular season. The goal should for TP to be able to play 40 minutes in the playoffs.
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