France drowns Spain in Badalona
BADALONA, 14 (EUROPA PRESS)
The Spanish men's basketball team lost this Thursday against France (67-75) at the Olímpic de Badalona, in the first 'Classique' between both teams, in a duel in which Sergio Scariolo's team lost themselves, with countless turnovers and poor shooting accuracy, against a French team that, without playing at its best, had enough to win the first match.
Paris will decide on Saturday whether Spain draws this double-header or if Les Bleus take both matches. Given what happened in Badalona, with the illustrious Ricky Rubio in his home stands, Spain never found their feet and will need to change things to, as Scariolo pointed out in the preview, close the gap between the two teams.
France easily wins physically. Their rough play, both slow and fast, unsettled a Spain that was short on points. Without Santi Aldama, injured (and ruled out along with Alberto Díaz), and with Darío Brizuela not playing in the second half, the most exciting moments were played by brothers Willy and Juancho Hernangómez, but at no point were Spain close to victory.
And in the third quarter, they even got within two points (44-46) after a basket by young point guard Sergio De Larrea. Spain had fallen behind by as many as 15 points, the result of a poor run between the first and second quarters. It seemed Spain might be able to fight back, but the game was held up too long by the numerous free throws taken (29 for Spain and 27 for France).
Thus, with the clock ticking much longer than desired to allow for a good basketball display, the game will not go down in history. It wasn't entertaining, save for some spectacular plays by Willy Hernangómez and Zaccharie Risacher, the young Frenchman with the number one pick in the draft who was born in Málaga but plays for the 'bleu' (blue).
Spain, trailing, lacking the points that the now retired Sergi Llull and Rudy Fernández had not so long ago, must find another path to success. Especially while Santi Aldama is unavailable. Then, the inside game must be the decisive weapon, because on the outside, except for Brizuela when he's engaged, there's little to draw from. This diminished Family certainly has dedication, strength, and hard work, but perhaps not as much talent as it once had.
With the first quarter at 14-25 and a second in which the French side took a run (which had been open) to 0-11, the match looked very bad. But Sergio Scariolo's team responded well, and the Spaniards, with an 8-0 run led by Santi Yusta, dreamed. But Yabusele and Okobo appeared to pull them back, leading to a 35-43 halftime score.
After tributes to Quino Colom and Pau Ribas at halftime, Spain tried to turn things around and took a very low-scoring third quarter (17-15), which was a faithful reflection, a summary, of the overall outcome of the match. Spain came close, had possession of the ball and took the lead, but turnovers doomed the home side. Spain lost their own way in Badalona despite having players like Joel Parra and Alberto Abalde, who developed here at the Olímpic.
And the physicality wasn't enough. Josep Puerto finished very well, but the isolated scoring opportunities from one Spanish player or another didn't combine, and despite the Hernangómez players, who were pulling the strings, it was Risacher's France that took the first duel. With the feeling that this France, without their star player Victor Wembanyama, needs little to defeat Spain.
TECHNICAL SHEET.
–RESULT: SPAIN, 67 – FRANCE, 75 (35-43, at halftime).
–TEAMS.
SPAIN: De Larrea (4), Abalde (-), López-Arostegui (5), J.Hernangómez (7) and W.Hernangómez (15) –initial quintet–; Puerto (7), Pradilla (6), Saint-Supéry (2), Brizuela (5), Yusta (6), Parra (7) and Sima (3).
FRANCE: Strazel (6), Okobo (10), Coulibaly (-), Yabusele (12) and Poirier (1) –starting quintet–; Luwawu-Cabarrot (2), Maledon (2), Jaiteh (2), Risacher (12), Hoard (13), Sarr (3), Francisco (5) and Hifi (7).
–PARTIALS: 14-25, 21-18, 17-15 and 15-17.
–REFEREES: Castillo, Mendoza and Rosso.
–PAVILLION: Palau Olímpic de Badalona.
