PARIS (France) - Time to exhale. France and Germany put on an incredible battle for 40 minutes, and it came down to the closing seconds, where the hosts had just enough calmness to win the game 73-69.
They move to the Final on Saturday, waiting for the winner of the Serbia and the United States matchup.
Turning point
Germany opened up the game with a 12-2 run, but there were no signs of panic from the French side, helped by 13,000 fans at the Bercy Arena.
Coach Vincent Collet knew it starts with defense, and his men held Germany to just 8 second quarter points, the least for the world champs at the 2024 Olympics.
When Isaia Cordinier and Guerschon Yabusele started making shots on the other side, the teams entered the second half all tied at 33-all.
France's big break happened in the last three minutes of the third quarter, and the first three minutes of the fourth. They put together a 10-1 run to break away to a 58-50 advantage, and when Victor Wembanyama and Frank Ntilikina connected on two straight triples, the scoreboard said 66-53 with seven minutes to play.
However, Germany did not give up, they started taking more risks on defense and caught France of guard just enough to make it back to 70-68 on a deep Franz Wagner three-pointer with 38.6 seconds left to play.
But after Nicolas Batum missed a corner three, Wagner fell out of bounds with the rebound and France got the ball back with 12.0 to play. Meaning, Germany had to foul.
Wembanyama made one of two from the line to make it 71-68 with 10.9 left.
Coach Gordon Herbert had one last timeout, France fouled Dennis Schroder, and he also split a pair to make it -2 again. Cordinier was next to the line, and with 7.4 left he made both shots to ice the game.
Game hero
Guerschon Yabusele. The crowd favorite heard MVP chants in this one, and he deserved them completely, leading the team with 17 points and 7 rebounds.
Isaia Cordinier, after a remarkable game against Canada, was once again very precious on both ends of the floor.
Stats don't lie
Germany were the best team up until this game when it came to protecting the ball, but their 15 turnovers allowed France to grab a 20-9 edge in points from turnovers.
Bottom line
This is the French way, remember. They have done it time and time again, erasing their early tournament struggles and advancing the Final, making it the first time ever that they are going to win back-to-back Olympic medals.
Meanwhile, Germany still have their dream of three consecutive medals in three summers alive. But heartbroken, that early game on Saturday will be extremely tough for the world champs.
They said
We're in the final with one more step to take - Evan Fournier
"We have quality, we have heart, we love each other. We knew we weren't performing up to our potential. But we responded. We flipped the switch. Things changed. It brought us together, and now we're in the final with one more step to take. We are realizing what is happening. That's why we wanted to stay and celebrate with the fans. In Tokyo, even though the tournament scenario was extraordinary, it was easy to move on. There were no fans."- Evan Fournier, France.
We’re close to where we want to be - Isaia Cordinier
"Not a lot of people still believed in us after the friendlies and the Group Phase. But we remained confident. We did the same thing in the Semi-Final as in the Quarter-Final and, we did it! We have one more game—a final of the Olympics, at home, in front of our families and friends. It’s a special tournament for me. I’m continuing what my father started. I stay true to myself. I’m so glad we found our chemistry again—with my buddies, Guerschon, Matthias. Evan is playing like a boss, making huge shots. Nando gave us precious minutes. The whole team is on a mission. We’re close to where we want to be. We have to stay ourselves. The only ones that could stop us is us." - Isaia Cordinier, France
Gotta give them credit - Franz
"They got long guards, long wings, physical guys, Wemby, Rudy, Lessort - very physical. They did a good job today, gotta give them credit. I thought we didn't play our brand of basketball, too, it's always a little bit of both. We didn't play our best game, and they changed a lot since our last game. They made some good adjustments, and had a better day today." - Franz Wagner, Germany
Reaching the final in Paris was a dream - Vincent Collet
"For all of us, reaching the Final in Paris was a dream. So I asked the players before the game, are you gonna let the Germans steal the Final from your fans? They were saying no, no way, we would die on the court, but no way. That's why we did it." - France head coach Vincent Collet, talking how the German celebrations after the game in Lille motivated the team for this rematch
"French media asked me what are we feeling, are we proud. No. We aren't feeling pride. We're feeling happiness. Maybe tomorrow or later, we'll feel pride, too. But right now we are happy." - coach Collet on emotions
Quick notes
The only other host to make the Final of the Olympics were the United States, twice (1984, 1996)
Germany have lost seven of their last nine games against European teams, including the last three elimination games (France 2024, Slovenia 2020, CIS 1992)
Germany made just 29.4 percent of their threes, their worst shooting day since the defeat to USA in 2008
Guerschon Yabusele has scored 61 points in five elimination games at the Olympics. That's 12.2 per game, compared to just 6.8 points per game he scored in six games of the preliminary rounds in 2020 and 2024
Dennis Schroder and Franz Wagner became the third and fourth German players in double digits in each of their first five appearances at the Olympics, after Dirk Nowitzki and Detlef Schrempf
FIBA