What a desappointment. This Thursday, the France U20 team lost in the quarter of the EuroBasket against the Lithuanians of the terrible Mantas Rubstavicius. This setback sadly pulls the curtain on the 2002 generation in Blues. A last big campaign was possible, we will finally keep the 2021 World Cup at the top in the memory box.
For the score sheet of this quarter-final, it is by ICI !
Kenneth Lofton Jr. last summer, Mantas Rubstavicius a year later. This Thursday, in the quarter-finals of the EuroBasket, the Lithuanian leader took over by slamming 38 points at 72% shooting on the France U20 team. A boring end to the course for Frédéric Crapez’s men, once again victims of an isolated eruption. If we had to take advantage of this disillusionment, we would look towards the 25 points (15/17 in throws) from Matthew Strazel, freshly landed in Monaco. But OK, “telling him he has no lice does not console the bald”. A year after the setback – paradoxically gratifying – against the cainris of Chet Holmgren, the Blues therefore lost control very / too early in this Euro. How to explain this gap between the silver medal won at the 2021 World Cup, and this result ” White paper “ ? Selected with the France A team, Victor Wembanyama has definitely drawn the curtain on the young selections, to the chagrin of his former teammates. Without him, Mantas Rubstavicius chained format drives « 2+1 » without having to worry about a large 2m20 rod under the circle. It is not said that the presence of Totor would have changed the result, simply that with him, the result would not be the same. Yeah, that’s what they say.
???????? Mantas Rubstavicius of Lithuania put on one of the most impressive offensive performances I have seen in the youth ranks, period.
38 points on 72.2 FG% as he led underdogs Lithuania to an incredible victory against one of the tournament favorites – France ????????#FIBAU20Europe pic.twitter.com/s4iJsf2U6P
— Rob Karaznevic (@dogtheballer) July 21, 2022
“In the north, it was leeeeees corons. The earth was eeeee coal. The sky was the hooooo-rizon. Men, underground miners”. It is often said that singing is a good alternative to silence. For once, it serves us rather to cross a minimum threshold of words, which we cannot reach when talking about the Lithuanian workforce. It was rigorous, constant, and apart from the immense performance by Rubstavicius, it didn’t really break a duck’s three legs. Where the Blueberries fell into the cheese, it is with this 14/27 at 2-point. It looks like the shooting stat of a good game by Donovan Mitchell, but globalized collectively, 27 attempts at 2-pointers is far too few. In defense, same topo: the Lithuanians lost only five balls, which again, is equivalent to a good match by Donovan Mitchell. However, this setback is not representative of this France U20 team, usually fiery / aggressive, bordering on petulant. Some have excellent club situations, like Clément Frisch, the first recruit of SLUC Nancy this summer, or the new Limogeaud Lucas Ugolin, who could not play this Euro. A guy like Kevin Marsillon-Noléo, tied up in the cellar of Cholet Basket this season, will finally start on the side of Denain Voltaire. All that to say that if this defeat marks the end of an episode in Blues, it is only the first day of the rest of their life #poetry.
We prefer to close this paper on a positive note, with the highlights of the final between Cainris and French at the 2021 World Cup, the image that we will remember from this 2002 generation, rather than with old stiff Lithuanian lay-ups and blond as a wafer of butter. We’ll find you, Rubstavicius.