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41 minutes ago, Update 2 minutes ago
Two out of two for Sandrine Gruda and the Blues in Slovenia. JURE MAKOVEC / AFP
The French basketball players won (63-57) against Great Britain on Friday, for their second match at the Euro, and see the quarters.
After one complicated entry against Germany (58-50) the day beforethe French basketball players were again messy on Friday against Great Britain, winning 63 to 57, a second success at Euro-2023 which however brings Sarah Michel’s teammates closer to the quarters.
In a still empty Stozice Arena in Ljubljana, the French women still had just as much trouble in attack against the zone defense proposed by their opponents, but were able to raise their voices at the end of the third quarter to make the difference, no without a few scares. “It is true that it is a pain. We sometimes lack lucidity and reading. We rush a little. Maybe it comes from our youth“, commented Sandrine Gruda at the microphone of beIN Sports after the meeting. “The most important thing for us is to hang on, and to play forty minutes, we have bench and rotation“, she added.
After a day of rest on Saturday, Les Bleues will face Slovenia early Sunday evening (6:00 p.m.), still in the Slovenian capital, to finish the job and secure first place in their group C, synonymous with a direct ticket to the quarter-finals, without going through a tricky roadblock.
Pulse by Sarah Michel
For this match against Great Britain, coach Jean-Aimé Toupane had wanted to see his players progress in the attacking game, while the match against Germany was marked by very poor marksmanship, with only 33% success, so 20% at three points. His wish was granted only very rarely, with slightly better shooting success (40% at 26/65).
Unlike Friday, the French took control immediately and were never led by very clumsy Britons. Despite this weak address from Great Britain, the French only returned to the locker room with a small lead of five points (29-24), and saw their opponents come back tied at 35 everywhere after 26 minutes. Under the leadership of captain Sarah Michel (four ists, two steals), they then scored a 12-0 straddling the third and fourth quarters, punctuated by a three-point shot from inside Asvel Alexia Chartereau, to get some air a little earlier than against Germany.
But as when they entered the competition, the French did not know (or could) kill all suspense: while they were leading by 9 points a minute and a half from the end (61-52), they saw the British come back to four points (61-57) thirty seconds from the buzzer. They ended up winning thanks to the fine performance of Migna Touré (15 points) and Sarah Michel (7 ists, 3 steals).