France, the silver medalist in men’s basketball at the Tokyo Olympics, has been eliminated in the first round of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup 2023.
France (No. 5 in the FIBA rankings) came from behind to defeat Latvia (No. 29) 86-88 in the second game of Group H on Sunday in Jakarta, Indonesia. After a shocking 65-95 loss to Canada (No. 15) in the first round, France lost its second straight game and will not advance to the second round regardless of the outcome of its final game against Lebanon (No. 43-2) on Monday. In Group H, Canada and Latvia (2+2) punched their tickets to the second round regardless of the outcome of their matchup on Monday.
France is a powerhouse that finished second in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics final to the United States, 82-87, and runner-up to Spain, 76-88, at EuroBasket 2022. They finished third at the 2019 World Cup. France will be aiming for gold at next year’s Olympics on home soil and were hoping for a podium finish at the World Cup. However, they were upset by Latvia, who were making their first appearance at the World Cup. “If we had fallen in the quarterfinals or the semifinals, it would have been a different story, but we didn’t even make it past the first round,” said French veteran Nicolas Batum (35-203 cm), who plays for the National Basketball Association (NBA) Los Angeles Clippers. “For the first time in this jersey, I feel ashamed. I’m afraid to go home because we let a lot of people down.” Batum had 13 points and Evan Fournier (201 cm-New York Knicks) added 27 for Latvia.
In Group E, Finland (No. 24) was upset by Japan (No. 36) 88-98 on Sunday in Okinawa. Finland led 46-36 at halftime and went up 71-53 with 2:26 left in the third quarter. However, they allowed a late third quarter comeback to cut the deficit to 73-63 before being outscored by 20 points in the fourth quarter, 15-35, and ultimately suffering a 10-point loss. It was Finland’s second straight loss, following a 72-98 first-round defeat against Australia (FIBA No. 3), and they will be eliminated regardless of the result against Germany (FIBA No. 11) on Monday. 소닉카지노
Japan hasn’t won a game in 17 years since a group stage victory over Panama at the 2006 World Championships (the predecessor to the World Cup) on home soil. Yuki Kawamura (172 cm-Yokohama B Colossus) led the offense with 25 points (9 assists), including four 3-pointers (7 attempts), while naturalized player Josh Hawkins (208 cm-Shinshu Brave Warriors) added 28 points (19 rebounds).
The tournament features 32 nations divided into eight groups (Groups A through H) for the first round (league play). The top two teams from each group will advance to the second round (four groups of four). In Round 2 (Groups I-L), the eight teams that finish first and second in each group will play a tournament to determine the winner. Rounds 1 and 2 will be held in Manila, Philippines; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Okinawa, Japan. The quarterfinals and ranking matches will be played in Manila.
At the previous World Cup in 2019, Spain defeated Argentina to win the gold medal. South Korea, ranked 26th at the time, did not qualify this time around. Last year, they had to withdraw from the first qualifier (Philippines) due to the coronavirus outbreak.