Basketball: intractable, the Blue sweep China at home, for their second TQO match

Marième Badiane et les Bleues enchainent. XinHua – Li Yibo

As a demonstration, the French basketball players crushed the Chinese world vice-champions at home 82-50 on Saturday in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Xi'an, without any challenge for the Blues, already qualified as host country.

Six months before its 2024 Olympics, the French basketball team undoubtedly delivered the benchmark match of the Toupane era, arrived at its head after the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The local public witnessed a fireworks display from Marine Johannès, with 17 points including a 5/8 behind the line, on this Chinese New Year.

Like the other banned from the last Euro, Gabby Williams with 17 points and 7 rebounds. Each already had 12 points at half-time (44-24) of this one-sided match which it would be short to sum up to the performance of the two spearheads of the French attack (17 and 21 minutes), deprived of Euro-2023 due to a skirmish with the federation for the first time, a concussion for Gabby Williams.< /p>

Up to 43 points ahead

In addition to a state of grace with three points (48% success), the Blues displayed a collective physical intensity at every moment, sometimes making ridicule of their opponents. Their runs and activity under the basket resulted in 14 steals and 42 rebounds (compared to 7 and 28 for China).

The French women were up to 43 pts ahead (82-39) against the second nation in the world and finalist of the last World Cup where the Chinese had stopped the Blue in the quarter-final (85-71).

Enough to alleviate the memory of the qualifying tournament for the 2022 World Cup in Belgrade the same year, when, already qualified, the Blues took a slap in the face (103-70). And above all, look calmly towards the Olympic Games.