EuroBasket - France reach last four and qualify for Spain 2014

LJUBLJANA (EuroBasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - France qualified for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup by knocking off hosts Slovenia 72-62 in Wednesday's second Quarter-Final at EuroBasket 2013 and set up a re-match of the EuroBasket 2011 Final against Spain.

Tony Parker scored a game high 27 points for France while Nicolas Batum collected 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Boris Diaw chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.

"We are very happy. We did a very good job tonight. We played aggressively, we responded to their aggressiveness,” said France guard Nando De Colo.

"The main thing was mentally, to stay in the game, stay ahead and don't crack, even if we made a few mistakes in the game, or had a lapse in concentration - overall we did a good job," added Diaw.

Slovenia got 18 points from Goran Dragic while Zoran Dragic added 12 points and Bostjan Nachbar had 10 points in the loss.

"Tony was amazing," Goran Dragic said about Parker.

"One of the best point guards in the European championship and the world. We didn't play smart enough."

Slovenia must now turn around quickly and take on Serbia - who lost the first Quarter-Final 90-60 to Spain - Thursday afternoon in the 5-8 classification stage. The winner of that game will also book a spot at Spain 2014.

France struggled to find a rhythm in the first quarter while Zoran and Goran Dragic drove continually the rim and scored all 10 points as Slovenia built a 10-7 lead. The French, who shot just (14%) in the opening period, tied the game at 10-10 before seeing Slovenia move ahead 12-10 after 10 minutes.

Les Bleus found their offensive game to open the second quarter with a 10-4 run and claim a 20-16 lead. Nachbar scored five straight points to give Slovenia a 24-22 lead. But France went to the locker room ahead 26-24.

After Nachbar opened the second half with a jumper to tie the game, the French went on a 10-0 surge for a 36-26 lead. Slovenia inched back to within 42-39 but six straight points from Parker pushed the margin to 50-42. Domen Lorbek however nailed a triple at the third quarter buzzer to bring Slovenia within 50-45.

Lorbek brought Slovenia to within 52-49 but Batum sparked a 7-0 run with a tough three-point play and an assist on De Colo's basket to make it 59-49 with less than six minutes to play.

Goran Dragic did not give up and pulled Slovenia back to within four, 61-57. But France continued their strong foul shooting down the stretch and also took care of the ball.

Parker made a foul shot with 41 seconds to stretch the lead back to 10 and send the Slovenian crowd into consolatory chants.

For full and in-depth coverage of EuroBasket 2013, go to the official website http://www.eurobasket2013.org.

FIBA