Ante Tomic and Bojan Bogdanovic cut down France's 16-point lead, but France was able to hold on late to advance to the FIBA World Cup quarterfinals.
France will advance to the quarterfinals after defeating Croatia in a 69-64 game that turned into a thriller in the fourth quarter. The teams combined for just 55 points in the first half as both offenses lacked rhythm throughout the game. France pulled away on the shoulders of Evan Fournier and Nicolas Batum, who were able to find enough offense to outlast Croatia.
Ante Tomic tried to lead a Croatian comeback in the fourth quarter, and Bojan Bogdanovic cut France's 16-point lead down to two points with 1:50 left in the game, but couldn't come up with enough stops in the final quarter to avoid elimination. Bogdanovic had an opportunity to put Croatia ahead in the final minute of the game, but his long-range well-defended three-point attempt didn't fall.
France will play the winner of Spain vs. Senegal.
What we learned
France lacks a go-to scorer
Tony Parker has been France's go-to guy for years, and his absence at the FIBA World Cup is one of the big stories for the international competition. France struggled to score without him, lacking the all-around play that Parker delivers each time he steps on the court. They were unable to find easy baskets in their halfcourt offense and lacked a player who could deliver isolation baskets.
Nicolas Batum hasn't been a consistent factor for France, Evan Fournier is still developing and Boris Diaw isn't a possession scorer. France may advance, but they need to operate a much more effective offense to eliminate the "big" teams in their bracket like Greece, Argentina and even Brazil.
Boris Diaw focused on facilitating
No Parker, slight problem. France lacks a facilitator without Parker, but Boris Diaw has been doing his best to spread the ball around. He may have ended the night with just five assists, but he was getting plenty of touches and often looked to find the open man instead of scoring on his own.
There was also this surprising block in transition from Diaw that looked like an easy transition basket for Croatia:
Bojan Bogdanovic and Ante Tomic are Croatia's stars
Bojan Bogdanovic holds Croatia's hopes in his hands as their leading man. He outscored France on his own through the first quarter, scoring nine points to France's seven, and set the tone for Croatia early. Croatia failed to keep him involved in the offense or find him easy looks, however, and things began to fall apart. He ended the game with 27 points.
Ante Tomic showed great touch and footwork in the low-post, often outmatching France's smaller frontcourt. He finished the night with 17 points, doing most of his damage in the fourth quarter. This isolation move on Rudy Gobert in the low-post was devastating:
The two players give Croatia a solid inside-out duo, but the team will need to refine their gameplan on offense to make the most of the two talented players that look like the foundation of their international squad.
Play of the game
Evan Fournier gave France the jump start they needed in the second quarter to finally take the lead. His three-point shot, and tough finish in traffic, were big plays to help the French push ahead and get him going through the game:
Player of the game
Evan Fournier gave France a big boost with his scoring off the bench. He wound up scoring 13 points, finishing around the rim despite Croatia's size advantage and giving France enough of a boost to advance to the next round. Fournier didn't have a prolific game, but he got France back on track in a game that was quickly slipping away.
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