By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
This year’s home bets made sure they’ll reach deep into the playoff round of the Paris Olympics men’s basketball as France pulled off a consistent two-way outing to kick Canada out of medal contention, 82-73, on August 7, 2024, during the quarterfinal stage.
The French squad relied on their strength in the interior and dominated Canada in the paint led by the duo of NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama and veteran forward Guerschon Yabusele.
With the size advantage that they had over the smaller Canadian national team, France just pounded their way in the shaded lane from the get-go that helped them build a comfortable double-digit cushion after the first 10 minutes of action.
Aside from their offensive rebounding and paint scoring, France’s defense also slowed down the high-octane Canadian offense, limiting them to just 10 points in the opening canto, their lowest-scoring quarter in their entire 2024 Olympic campaign.
Yabusele kicked off France’s hot start after hitting a couple of mid-range shots while bullying his way inside for easy deuces.
Isaia Cordinier also stepped up for France in the playoff round and top-scored his team after the first quarter capped off by back-to-back three-pointers and a series of drives in the fast break.
However, Canada started to put up a fight in the second quarter when Oklahoma City Thunder franchise player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drained some much-needed baskets that trimmed their deficit to just a single digit.
Just when Canada thought they would roll in the game after Alexander’s personal scoring rally, France got back and held a counter run led by Wembanyama and Evan Fournier.
France continued their consistent brand of basketball in the third and protected its lead but Canada turned the tables when they erased a 16-point deficit to just five points, 71-66, with 2:54 remaining in the game.
Unfortunately, that became Canada’s last laugh as they got outscored again by France and entered a disappointing drought in the final two minutes of the knockout game.
With France clinging to a seven-point lead in the final 56 seconds of the game, Fournier put the cherry on top after sinking a long three-point bomb that helped increase their cushion back to 10 points.
Yabusele top-scored for the French national team after putting up an efficient 22-point performance while Wembanyama had an all-around game of seven markers, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and a block.
France will advance to the semifinal round of the Paris Olympics men’s basketball and will set up a highly-anticipated rematch with Germany.
Both teams already met in the early stage of the stage seeding but the visitors came out on top and dominated France, 85-71.
