2023-06-15 04:00:01
The competition begins on Thursday with forty games played between Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Tel Aviv (Israel) over ten days.
Ten days between Slovenia and Israel to start the summer. No, it’s not about your vacation program but about Eurobasket 2023. Two years after Serbia’s coronation against Les Bleues, five-time silver medalists in title, the competition returns Thursday, June 15 before a final scheduled for the 25th.
Without the talented rear Marine Johannèsdeprived of selection due toa round trip to the United States during the preparation for contractual reasonsand winger Gabby Williams, package, the French team of Jean-Aimé Toupane, however, comes to Ljubljana with high ambitions when it comes to challenging Germany for their entry into the running.
The format
Like the last three editions, the Eurobasket brings together 16 teams from the Old Continent divided into four groups. If pools A and B are scheduled at the Menora Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv, the other two – including that of the France team – are scheduled at the Arena Stozice in Ljubljana. To continue their journey and reach the final phase, the objective for all teams is to avoid last place.
By winning their pool, the four winners will automatically qualify for the quarter-finals, the stage of the competition from which all matches take place in Slovenia. On the other hand, the second and third of the pool will go through a jump-off to access these quarters. Note that the nations eliminated from this stage will play classification matches in Israel because five tickets for the Olympic qualifying tournament are distributed to the five best Eurobasket teams (apart from France, which has already qualified for Paris 2024).
France dreams of finally winning gold
Freed from this mental pressure thanks to its status as host country of the Olympic Games, France therefore has the advantage of being able to fully focus on this European event. Champions in 2001 and 2009, Les Bleues dream of lifting a third trophy after losing five finals in a row. If they face the Slovenians at home, the tricolor players are largely favorites of group C also made up of Germany, their first opponent, and Great Britain, which they swept on Saturday to sign their fifth victory in as many of preparation matches (76-54).
Enough to fill up with confidence since they also took their revenge, in preparation matches, against China, who had eliminated them in the quarter-finals of the World Cup at the end of 2022 before reaching the final, but also against Serbia, reigning European champion. For this Euro, coach Jean-Aimé Toupane has renewed his team by half compared to the last World Cup. A group of 12 French girls with a fairly young average age (26 years and 3 months). If the 219 selections of Sandrine Gruda weigh heavily, Marie-Paule Foppossi (25 years old) and the young Leïla Lacan (19 years old) are playing their first international competition.
Spain favorite, Belgium in ambush, Serbia defend their title
Behind Les Bleues, three other teams can claim the European crown. If Serbia has lost twice in recent weeks without finding the solution against the French, “you should not bury an outgoing champion”notes Yannick Souvre, former player of the France team and now director of the Women’s Basketball League. “The nations have certainly had very little time to prepare but we do not know if they have not kept a little under their feet”.
Belgium remains, led by the pivot Emma Meessema, who has just won a fifth Euroleague with Fenerbahce, and ASVEL leader Julie Allemand. “These are girls who are reaching great maturity but they have lost a few players recently so I would say that the Spaniards with their grinta and their inexhaustible reservoir are favorites”, details the former international. Seventh in Euro 2021 and not qualified for the last World Cup, the Iberians have revenge to take to assume their status as the first European nation in the FIBA ranking. If the two teams finish at the top of their pools, France could also face them in the final.
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