Despite a dominant first half, Great Britain fell 79-74 to France on Saturday night in Orleans, as they continue to look for their first win of the summer.
GB led 43-25 at half-time and appeared firmly in control but a fired up French side came storming back in the third and stole the game in the fourth to stun GB.
Head coach Chris Finch commented after the game:
“We played well and to be honest we played well overall and we have gone a few steps forward now building up to the Olympics.
“We played good basketball against a world quality opponent but we didn’t respond well when the game got ugly in the second half but it’s a great experience for these guys and we are still trying to grow together as a team.
“We have plenty of games to play yet against strong opposition so these guys are well on the way to being fully prepared for the Games.”
Luol Deng led GB with 23 points and 12 rebounds, Nate Reinking and Mike Lenzly added 11 each, whilst Dan Clark and Pops Mensah-Bonsu finished with 8 each. Boris Diaw and Yakhouba Diaware led France with 14 points a piece.
Things don’t get any easier for Finch’s side as they face Spain on Monday.
Did you catch the game? Thoughts?
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Where does that put us in the Olympics power rankings?
Tony Parker only played for a few minutes.
Well I just caught the game after watching it on ESPN. I am afraid for Team GB because France showed that when it comes to it, put pressure on us and we give it to Deng. Too many silly and stupid turnovers showed that we have a LONG way to go in International basketball.
To give up a massive 20 point lead in international basketball is suicidal. Yes they played well in parts (certainly the first half) but I am afraid that we need to play for 40 minutes, again our offense when put under pressure just collapse.
I’m sorry, and it pains me to say it, but I cannot see us winning any game this summer let alone getting out of the group stage at the Olympics.
Very disappointing and Parker only played 5 minutes of the first quarter. thank god that Rubio is out for Spain….still……
the fact britain have a place in the olympics. an elite 12 team tournament, when teams that finished above the,m in eurobasket and are traditional powerhouses and strong teams like serbia (2010 semfinalist ), slovenia, turkey, greece, croatia…is simply a disaster for basketball………NATE REINKING is playing in the olympics while milos teodosic is sitting at home watching…ridiculous…
Any stream available for spain game tonight???