Seven years have passed, the wound is not closed. On September 18, 2015, in the final of the EuroBasket, the one whose name we remain silent since this event MA-SSA-CRÉ the French team. A dark evening to be put in the worst category concerning it, and the apprehension continues to relive a tornado similar to the infamous Pau Gasol. Well, this year, there is not really a clie… oh wait.
It’s 7 p.m. A fine drizzle disperses the Berlin mist. Under this threatening gray sky, 1000 French supporters wait in front of the room. One of them reads aloud one of Willy Hernangomez’s statements before this final.
“It’s a game that we have to enjoy. We have no pressure, I think the job is already done. »
Go there quietly, almost hands in your pockets, or at least give the impression. This is the mental technique that Willy Hernangomez chose to adopt, inner leader of Spain on this EuroBasket 2022. It is by playing uninhibited that we perform best. What follows will give reason to this maxim, itself crushed under the weight of a Hernangomesque performance. Are you ready ? Script.
“Oh Woudy Gobew let Hernangomez slip under his feet! Watch out Woudy, watch out…”. Two Spanish possessions and already a first warning, Willy Hernangomez continues – far too easily – rolled arm and « Dream Shake » on Gobert, bringing his personal scoring to 4 points in 39 seconds of play. The most worrying is not necessarily the balance of the meeting, which we expected to be disputed neck and neck, but the gritted teeth / look black of a Willy Hernangomez (too much) in legs, mobile and available in transition. Everything Rudy hates what. On the competition, the Spanish interior is “only” 17.6 points and 6.8 rebounds average. Not really something to bode the worst, even less against a triple DPOY which is, following the elimination of Jokic, Sabonis and Valanciunas, what is done today best in FIBA rackets. But now, once the storm of the first minutes passed, Rudy decides to leave a small meter to Willy Hernangomez not to be surprised under the influence of a devastating first step. This small meter is actually the worst thing that has happened to France since Magali Berdah and the Enter the Circle of 47Ter. Willy has an insolent success at mid-range and punishes Rudy on all his defensive choices. He finished the first half with 17 points at 7/11 shooting, and 4 rebounds. The Blues lead by two points, the way is detestable. From then on hovers above our heads the old ghosts of a performance that we have never managed to forget. This final could have acted as medicine, it’s badly embarked.
Pau Gasol’s legendary match against France at Euro 2015.
40 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Villeneuve-d’Ascq’s nightmare.pic.twitter.com/q2p2Q4GcQk
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) September 17, 2022
At the break, Andrew Albicy would have tried to reproduce the mouthful of Tony in 2013, but was wrong in almost all the terms: “They say you have to do things. We don’t bump on the screens, we let them shoot their throws. We have to play tougher than that. Poland, we played tough. There, we do not play strong there! They dominate us, because they think we’re trash. You can see it in their faces, they think we’re mouscaille! ». Zero effect, the Blues eat an Iberian explosion out of the locker room. A 20-5 run supported by the excellent bench of La Roja, and a Rudy Fernandez author of three offensive faults on a single drive, for none of the whistles. Not really in sight in this 3rd quarter (only one fadeaway on Moustapha Fall), Willy Hernangomez comes out of his box in the last ten minutes and shocks the whole of Europe: 21 points at 8/11 shooting, 5 offensive rebounds felt like 74, and the scalp of a Rudy Gobert overwhelmed by the versatility of his vis-à-vis. The image of the meeting? Three shoulder shots on Vincent Poirier, unbalanced under the circle, and the two knees of Willy Hernangomez at head height. The AliExpress version of Shaq on Chris Dudley, without this stroller that would have made a lot of people unpin. Boom, it’s a clear Spanish victory, 74 to 52, and a smile mixing passion and arrogance drawn on the face of Hernangomez. His score sheet? 40 points at 16/23 shooting, 13 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block. In the process, and “unrelated to the result”, the mayor of Berlin announces a twinning agreement between the German capital and Villeneuve D’Ascq. We ? We go to bed, head stuck under the pillow, and we won’t wake up until the next France – Spain final.
If Willy Hernangomez really crashes 40 points tonight, TrashTalk won’t even dare to take responsibility. It is so unlikely that there would necessarily be a link between this writing and the field. But OK : “Never provoke his old demons, they have nothing else to do but answer you”.