Paul Lacombe after Czech Republic-France: “We were surprised”

Collet: “We were asleep”

Vincent Collet (coach of the French team): “The qualification for the World Cup was already acquired. However, we wanted to extend our series and finish first in our group. We will still have to beat Lithuania on Sunday. We did not expect such a difficult start. The Czech Republic was excellent, but we were asleep, without intensity and without speed. We were soon down 21-3 (7th minute). This is where we came to our senses, first to cut off their euphoria, even though our offense was still lacking (27-36 at the break). When we got back from the locker room, we set more pace, defended harder, and little by little we reversed the score, in particular with 3-point baskets, those of Victor (4/7), as well as Nicolas Lang’s two arrows at the start of the last quarter. In view of this second half, it is normal that we win with a significant gap. »