France aim to use World Cup run as springboard for success at Tokyo Olympics

MIES (Switzerland) - France evolved into a potent force last summer at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China and reached the podium, providing hope of an Olympic medal run next year in Tokyo.

Les Bleus left the Far East with plenty of good memories, including a dramatic 89-79 upset of the two-time defending champions USA in the Quarter-Finals in Dongguan.

"When you're a kid, growing up in France, it's one of the things that you picture yourself, like in 10, 15 years, you picture yourself playing the U.S. and hopefully winning," France center Rudy Gobert recalled during the second episode of FIBA's Run That Back!  program.

"For me, personally, it was a dream since I was a kid, so it was pretty crazy to be able to accomplish that.

"We were on a mission. You could feel it the day before when we were on the plane. The atmosphere was different. You could tell that it was a game that we did not want to lose and you could tell that we all were aware of the opportunity we had in front of us. And we were all able to make ourselves better, through motivation to push ourselves to a higher level."

His teammates, Nicolas Batum and Amath M'Baye, also sensed this could be their chance to accomplish a feat not many have over the years. Before the game against France, USA had seen just four defeats in a World Cup setting since the start of the new millenium.

"UNLESS IT'S LEBRON JAMES OR MICHAEL JORDAN, I'M NOT REALLY IMPRESSED BY ANYBODY. IT WAS NOT US THINKING, 'OH MY GOD, WE'RE PLAYING AGAINST THE USA.' IT WAS MORE ABOUT TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH OUR MISSION."- M'Baye on facing the USA in the Quarter-Finals

"We knew we had a chance for a big upset," said Batum, who went up against the USA's Kemba Walker, his former Charlotte Hornets teammate. "I played with Kemba, so, we played against all of those players and we know them. We were not impressed. We respected them but the basketball world has changed from 20 years ago.

"We came to show them, 'We're not scared of you. Okay, you're good, you have a ton of NBA players that are superstars,' but we knew we had a chance. We just went out there to try and win the game and to play good basketball."

"Unless it's LeBron James or Michael Jordan, I'm not really impressed by anybody," M'Baye said. "It was not us thinking, 'Oh my god, we're playing against the USA.' It was more about us trying to accomplish our mission."

France's M'Baye was in the thick of battle against the USA

Batum has played in the NBA since 2008, spending several years with the Portland Trail Blazers before joining Charlotte in 2015, while Gobert has been one of the best centers in the NBA as a member of the Utah Jazz, the team that drafted him in 2013. M'Baye, who has been competing with Pinar Karsiyaka in Turkey this season, is a former college player at Wyoming and Oklahoma. He has gone up against top American talents on numerous occasions.

And all three relished the prospect of facing the USA.

"The focus level was super high, not just because we were playing the United States but because we were on the road to achieving our goal and to keep moving forward in the competition," M'Baye said.

"The main goal was to be dominant on defense," Batum said. "We had Rudy with us in the paint and we had all the guys around had to take some pressure off Evan (Fournier) and Nando (De Colo) so that's why Frank (Ntilikina), Amath and I had to (defend) on the perimeter."

"IT'S THE ONLY THING (OLYMPIC MEDAL) I'VE MISSED WITH THE NATIONAL TEAM ...TO GET A MEDAL IN THE OLYMPICS IS THE MAIN GOAL AND WE NEVER KNOW WHAT CAN HAPPEN."- Batum on France's aim to reach the Olympic podium

The USA's Donovan Mitchell, Gobert's teammate in Utah, was excellent with 29 points.

"We knew one guy would take off for sure," Batum said. "Donovan had a good game but we had to control Kemba, and we did."

Walker was just 2-of-9 from the field and finished with 10 points. The game was close from the start, though France went from leading by several points in the third quarter to trailing in the fourth.

The USA went on an 18-5 run bridging the quarters to lead 72-65.

"We all knew they were going to make a run at some point," M'Baye said.

"We had to control the rebounds, relax and not panic," Batum said.

In those difficult moments, France continued to play hard and especially on defense. On offense, they were rescued by the bright young talent, Frank Ntilikina. With 6:44 remaining and the USA leading 74-69, he went hard to the basket and scored and then with 4:35 left, he drilled a game-tying three-pointer. From the wing with 2:16 remaining, he threw in a three-point dagger to extend France's advantage to 83-76.

Gobert slaps hands with Ntilikina after a big play for the 21 -year-old guard against the USA

"That was a big statement game for him," Batum said. "To hit two shots in the clutch, against Kemba - one of the best point guards in the league. Frank really introduced himself to the world. That was the perfect stage for him."

"I was really happy for him," Gobert said. "The first few years in the league, he hadn't proved what he wanted to prove and I told him that game (against the USA) was a big opportunity to show what he could do, that he could play with those guys... we couldn't have won without him."

Now the challenge for France is to keep the momentum, or even build on it. The French proved once again they were good enough to reach the podium at World Cup for the second straight time.

They have enjoyed success at FIBA EuroBaskets in the past decade, too. Batum was in teams that reached the Final of EuroBasket 2011, won EuroBasket 2013 and, with Gobert on the team as well, finished third as hosts of EuroBasket 2015.

What has eluded them has been Olympic achievement. France last claimed a medal at a Summer Games in 2000, while in both London (2012) and Rio de Janeiro (2016), the team lost in the Quarter-Finals to Spain.

With the coronavirus pandemic having led to the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo being pushed back a year to 2021, can Batum, Gobert, along with linchpins Evan Fournier and Nando de Colo finally satisfy their hunger for an Olympic medal? Could Japan be the next stage for Ntilikina to shine for his country?

"It's so different, with only 12 teams," Batum said. "I've done it twice, London and Rio, and it's the only thing I'm missing with the national team. One thing we talked about after that game with Nando, we just beat a super team of the U.S. We're going to have to be extra extra extra motivated and focused to beat them in Tokyo. To get a medal in the Olympics is the main goal and we never know what can happen."

"I think it's about us," Gobert said. "I think they're (USA) going to really try to bring some guys that weren't there last summer, some guys that are more experienced in the FIBA game. But I think it's about the way we're going to prepare mentally, physically. The window is always short, but with the closeness we have in the group. All of those moments we had -- the good ones, the bad ones -- as a group last summer, they are really going to help us in the future. Overall, I think it was a great experience for our group."

FIBA