"Shooting mistakes cost the Blues dearly... disastrous emblem of overall chaos"
French National Basketball Team Struggles with Three-Point Shooting in EuroBasket 2025
In a disappointing turn of events at the EuroBasket 2025 tournament in Riga, the French national basketball team, affectionately known as the Blues, experienced a setback in their round of 16 match against Georgia. The team, under the leadership of coach Frederic Fauthoux, finished with the third-worst three-point shooting percentage, a significant aspect of their game that proved to be a stumbling block in their journey.
The Blues' poor three-point shooting performance was evident in their 70-80 loss to Georgia. Guerschon Yabusele, who had a successful three-point shooting performance against Poland (6 out of 12), struggled against Georgia (1 out of 7). Sylvain Francisco, who attempted the most three-point shots (11) in the game against Georgia, made only 3.
The Blues' opponents often focused on disrupting their three-point shooting, a strategy that seemed to pay off. In the game against Georgia, the team managed only 3 out of 21 shots in the first 22 minutes. Despite having plenty of open shots, the Blues' attack didn't deliver, a trend that continued throughout the tournament.
Sandro Mamukelashvili, Georgia's forward, had warned of a tough night for the Blues before their game. He noted that if the Blues had made a few more three-point shots, the game against Georgia could have had a different outcome.
The struggle with three-point shooting wasn't limited to the senior team. Several French youth teams have also grappled with a low three-point shooting percentage. The last quarter of the game against Georgia saw Sylvain Francisco make only 3 out of 17 three-point shots, resulting in a 16.7% success rate for the New York Knicks player.
The art of the three-point shot was a significant issue for the Blues during their first campaign under Frédéric Fauthoux's direction. The team had only 3 players (Yabusele, Zaccharie Risacher, and Elie Okobo) with a 30% success rate behind the arc during the tournament.
The Blues faced a variety of defensive strategies from their opponents, including the match-up zone that gave them trouble against Israel. Despite their physical dominance, as showcased by their 12 offensive rebounds on their own missed long shots against Georgia, the Blues were unable to capitalise on these opportunities.
Guerschon Yabusele repeated the phrase "Those were good shots" four times after a poor performance from three-point range, a sentiment shared by many in the Blues' camp. The team finished the Euro semifinals on June 27 against Spain with a 5 out of 30 success rate from the three-point line, indicating a deeper issue in French basketball that needs to be addressed.
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