Victor Wambanyama could not have asked for a more dreamy debut for the French senior national team. The diamond of the tricolor, who is expected to be selected first in the NBA draft this summer, continued to show how great his potential is when he helped his team defeat Lithuania 65:90 in the MundoBasket qualifiers.
The talented Frenchman did not take part in the tricolor’s journey to a silver medal at the European Championships two months ago, so for him the match in Lithuania was a great opportunity for him to bring France closer to next summer’s World Championships, in what could be his first international tournament in the senior team uniform, if he chooses to participate.
The two teams that did not come with all the big stars in light of the ongoing conflict between the EuroLeague and the FIBA and the inability of the NBA players to reach the team’s windows in the middle of the season hoped to improve their positions at home, but in the end it was the guest who led throughout the game by a considerable margin and overtook its rival in the lead at home.
Vumbanyama was hot with 20 points and 9 rebounds in 23 quality minutes on the floor (index 23, plus or minus +25), but he was not the leading scorer as Silvan Francisco scored 21 with wonderful catches from the field (3 of 4 for two points, 5 from 5 out of three). Aymantas Bendzius and Mark Blazevich stood out on the other hand with 14 each.