The law of series, fatal and without caress. Whatever the opponent, the facts of the match, the logic: the Bleues du basket fell in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. The French women’s team has just lost (85-71) against China, for the sixth time in a row at this stage of the competition. The Chinese pulled out in the second quarter and the French, not very skilful, never managed to eat away at the gap, of ten points.
Led by Marine Fauthoux (20 points), the Bleues had to spice up their level of play, especially on the rebound, play smoothly and above all without as much clumsiness (33.3% on three-point shots) to overcome a nation as powerful as China – and tall, with two of China’s inland waterways towering over 2 meters. They did not succeed.
An end to the adventure for a team that won bronze last year at the Tokyo Olympics, but deprived of its backbone and its best elements: Marine Johannès, one of its main offensive assets, was injured just before the start of the World Cup, played in Australia, a package which combined with those of the irremovable Sandrine Gruda, leader and best scorer in the history of the Blue, Endy Miyem, not recovered from an ankle injury , the leader Alix Duchet for the same reasons and the winger Valériane Vukosavljevic, for personal reasons.
Outsider, the young French team was especially at fault against Serbia on Wednesday: the defeat (68-62) placed them directly on the road to China, when they could have afforded a little more air and chance against Belgium or Puerto Rico. To erase a series started at the beginning of the century.