Co-favourites France are not yet in top form just a few days before the start of the European Basketball Championship. Les Bleus lost in Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of the World Cup qualifiers.
France had travelled to Bosnia as towering favourites, but then got off to a weak start in the game – and were trailing 14:28 after the first quarter. Jusuf Nurkic and John Roberson shone for the home team.
As the game progressed, the visitors led by NBA stars Evan Fournier and Rudy Gobert stepped up a gear, came back and took the lead. In the third quarter, France experienced an unusual slump: the guests went almost nine minutes without a basket, while the Bosnians pulled away with a 20-0 series to 59:51.
But that was not enough for the Dragons to win the game, which went into overtime – twice. In the end, the underdog won 96-90. Nurkic was the best scorer for the Bosnians with 21 points, Fournier was the top scorer of the game with 24 points.
By the way, the game in Sarajevo was the last game for the French before the European Championship, which starts on Thursday evening in Cologne with the game against Germany for Les Bleus. Curious: On the 4th matchday of the European Championship preliminary round, the French will meet Bosnia-Herzegovina again.
