France were down by 11 midway through the first quarter, but geared up in the second half and took an easy win over the Czech Republic for the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers.
France (6-1) had to bounce back from a double-digit deficit in the first half, before storming to a comfortable win over the visiting Czech Republic (3-4) 95-60 (18-27, 20-15, 28-8, 29-10) at the Accor Arena in Paris.
France / Schedule
France
Czech Republic
Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe team coached by Ronen Ginzburg played without Tomas Satoransky and managed to respond to all the problems that France put them at the beginning.
The guests controlled the game in the first 15 minutes, leading by eleven (35-24). Vojtech Hruban had scored 11 points over that span, with Guerschon Yabusele being the only offensive weapon for coach Vincent Collet (10 points).
However, the situation was reversed in the third quarter and after a 30-minute break due to a technical problem with one of the two baskets. Rudy Gobert was the one who brought the basket down after a fierce dunk that made it 36-39 and less than one minute left in the first part.
The Czechs collapsed entirely, as France went on a partial score of 22-6, punctuated by several dunks from their big men.
Rudy Gobert dominated the paint against Jan Vesely on both ends, while Thomas Heurtel was dishing out assists at will.
Ondrej Balvin provided some solutions in the low post for Ronen Ginzburg's side, however, he was called a technical foul, which was his fourth personal, with eleven minutes left to play. the Czechs struggled from deep offensively.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot was impressive in that span, producing 16 points on 7/8 from the field in just 13 minutes of action. In the meantime, France were leading by more than 20 and the Czechs constantly turned the ball over, resulting in more dunks by the home team.
Late in the game, Elie Okobo was added to the equation, to the delight of the French fans.
Next Saturday, France will play Bosnia while the Czech Republic will face Hungary.
France: Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot 16 (7/8 FG, 0/1 FT), Guerschon Yabusele 16 (5/9 FG, 5/7 FT, 5 REB), Rudy Gobert 14 (7/10 FG, 0/2 FT, 7 REB), Elie Okobo 10 (3/3 FG, 3/4 FT, 4 REB, 4 AST), Vincent Poirier 10 (4/7 FG, 10 REB), Evan Fournier 7 (3/13 FG, 1/2 FT).
Czech Republic: Vojtech Hruban 14 (5/13 FG, 2/2 FT, 7 REB), Ondrej Balvin 12 (5/7 FG, 1/3 FT, 7 REB), Tomas Kyzlink 9.
