EUROBASKET – France scores against Bosnia and Herzegovina

The France team was reassured on Tuesday with a new success during this EuroBasket against Bosnia and Herzegovina (68-81). France again experienced various and varied emotions during this match, especially during the third quarter, where they showed astonishing clumsiness, which allowed Bosnia to come back to score. But the experience of the French and the revival of Thomas Heurtel, in difficulty since the start of the competition, allowed the French team to widen the gap again when Bosnia experienced a slight drop in speed. France have an appointment with Slovenia of Luka Doncic in less than 24 hours to consolidate their second place in group B.

The meetings follow one another and look alike for the France team. As in their last two games, against Lithuania and Hungary, the Blues managed to scare each other when they had the game fully in hand. This time, the alarm bell was sounded at the start of the fourth quarter, when Bosnia regained the lead (53-52) after a disastrous third quarter for the French (8 points scored in 10 minutes) who conceded a 13-0. An advantage they managed to hold until six minutes before the end of this meeting.

However, the Habs had an excellent first half by muzzling Dzanan Musa (1/5 from three points) and John Roberson (3/8 from three points) behind the line. Stronger than the Bosnian team in the paint thanks to Rudy Gobert, Vincent Poirier and Moustapha Fall, the France team had managed to widen a significant gap when returning to the locker room (34-44).

Fortunately for the Blues, Thomas Heurtel has returned to his usual level of form. With 14 points (5/11), 7 rebounds and 8 assists and two steals, the tricolor leader had his best game during this EuroBasket. Two days earlier, against Hungary, he had scored just three points and grabbed two rebounds. He finished this match with the worst tricolor plus-minus, tied with Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot. Even if he didn’t play a match up to his usual standards, Guerschon Yabusele was still decisive in the right moments. While France only led by a small point five minutes from the end, it was he who came to save the day thanks to a left-handed layup, while Rudy Gobert saw his shot attempt blocked by Jusuf Nurkic .