FIBA World Cup 2014 – France Beat Lithuania to Claim Bronze

By Bradley Gains on September 14, 2014

EuroBasket 2013 winners France achieved history in Madrid on Saturday by beating Lithuania 95-93 to win their first ever medal at a World Cup (Championship) by finishing third.

Just a day after losing to Serbia in the second semi-final, France bounced back to take bronze after a strong final quarter display saw them edge past their opponents in a repeat of last year’s EuroBasket final.

Nicolas Batum was again in top shooting form for his country, scoring 27 points while Boris Diaw added 15 and there were 13 points apiece for Thomas Huertel and Joffrey Lauvergne.

Lithuania were led by Toronto’s Jonas Valanciunas after he posted 25 points and 9 rebounds as they narrowly missed out on a medal.

The 2013 EuroBasket runners-up led by seven heading into the fourth but were unable to repeat their third place efforts from four years ago as France took the final quarter 31-22 to win by two points.

France made a 7-2 start to the game which was immediately countered by an 8-0 response from Lithuania but a 3-pointer from Batum would later make it 22-19 at the end of the first. They maintained their lead throughout the second although Lithuania did manage to further trim the deficit to trail 43-42 at half-time.

Lithuania took the lead straight away at the start of the third but a three from Huertel snatched it back right away. Adas Juskevicius and Donatas Motiejunas responded with scores of their own from beyond the arc to spark a 10-2 run for their side. The lead grew to as many as 8 when Martynas Pocius and Paulius Jankunas also found their range from downtown and the score would become 71-64 at the end of the third.

A vital 7-0 burst gave France the lead at 77-75 but Lithuania were soon back in front with an 80-77 advantage with 3:13 left on the clock. However, an untimely scoring drought started and France were able to capitalise with Diaw and Huertel adding four points in a pivotal 9-0 run to lead by six with 30 seconds left.

There was another late twist as Juskevicius scored five quick points to make it a one-point game resulting in a tense finish in the dying seconds to be decided from the free throw line. Despite having just missed 2/2 from the line, Huertel regained his composure to nail four foul shots while Diaw and Batum also netted important free throws to keep Lithuania at bay and claim an historic bronze medal.

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