Belgium make historic first Final after taking down France

LJUBLJANA (Slovenia) - It proved to be a case of third time lucky for Belgium as they finally made their first FIBA Women's EuroBasket Final after surviving a late scare to beat France 67-63.

Having lost at this stage in both 2017 and at the previous edition, this was a historic step for Belgium as they secured their record high finish at the event. However it was far from straightforward after they almost blew a 17-point lead.

Turning point: France looked set to wind in Belgium's massive double digit advantage and even had an opportunity to force overtime or win the game with the last possession. However, the Cats came up with a stop and sunk the free-throws they needed to take victory.

TCL Player of the Game: Emma Meesseman was a colossus like always with a monumental 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks to receive the TCL Player of the Game. 

Julie Vanloo with 5 threes in the first half. 🔥

She needs one more to break the Semi-Finals single-game three-pointers record & four for the all-time best.#EuroBasketWomen x #DareToDream pic.twitter.com/TTxOSfO8CA

— #EuroBasketWomen 2023 (@EuroBasketWomen) June 24, 2023

Stats Don't Lie: Belgium sunk 10 three-pointers and that was the difference-maker along with out-rebounding France 39-25. Julie Vanloo dropped 16 points in a red-hot first-half and finished with 18 points - including five triples which tied the Semi-Finals record with Alba Torrens of Spain in the previous game. 

Bottom line: Belgium simply had too much for their opponents and their devastating shooting from downtown really did lay the path towards a famous victory. While things did get slightly nervous at times as France trimmed their lead, the Cats had the composure to see the game out. 

France dug in during difficult moments when they were trailing by as many as 17 points. Led impressively by Sandrine Gruda who used all of her experience, they almost came back to break Belgian hearts. The center finished with 17 points. However, France didn't do enough to capitalize on a sky-high 20- Belgian turnovers.

They said:  "From the beginning of this tournament we said we wanted to go to the Final and take the gold medal. To finally get to the final is an amazing feeling. We have been building for 10 years now. Those last minutes was a roller-coaster. The stress was really high but we kept on doing our defensive work that helped us a lot. At the and when Julie sunk the two free throws, it was hard to stay focused as everyone wsa already celebrating and honestly, I think we don't believe what we just did." Belgium winger, Antonia Delaere

"Belgium have a good team. I am very proud of my onw team even if we did not win tonight. They reacted well in the second half and we even had one possession to win the game, but we just couldn't make it. We need to try to look forward now for the Third Place game." France head coach, Jean-Aime Toupane.

FIBA