Music: {allcanada} France drops Canada to 0-3 at worlds

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

{allcanada} France drops Canada to 0-3 at worlds

IZMIR, Turkey -- Three weeks ago in Toronto, Canadian basketball coach Leo Rautins saw it coming.

Canada had just defeated France in two world championship warmups, 69-58 and 85-63, but Rautins warned his players not to get overconfident.

"One of the things I said then was that this team was going to be a lot better team when we played again," Rautins said.

They were Tuesday, in a gritty, defensive affair in which Nicolas Batum and Mickael Gelabale each hit a pair of free throws in the final 17 seconds to help France clinch a 68-63 win over Canada on Tuesday at the world championship.

"If it wasn't for those two losses, we probably wouldn't have won today," said French coach Vincent Collet. "Those two games helped us understand our problems. Today our defence was more efficient and organized."

France (3-0) is on the brink of winning Group D with a victory over Lithuania (3-0) on Wednesday. Canada suffered its third straight loss, crippling its chances to finish in the group's top four to advance to the single-elimination rounds.

"We knew they needed this game," Collet said. "And they gave everything to win it."

Levon Kendall of North Vancouver scored 15 points. He came into the game as the tournament's second-leading rebounder at 11 per game, but gathered only four in this one. Nineteen-year-old Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops, B.C., was a revelation, scoring 13 points in 19 minutes.

"It shows a lot of character for a guy at his age to come here and play without a fear," Kendall said of Olynyk. "It was great for him and hopefully he can do that on a consistent basis."

The Canadians played without Andy Rautins, the team's starting point guard and Leo Rautins' son, who was on the bench nursing a knee injury.

The game included 11 lead changes and 12 ties and started off with both teams struggling to score.

Three minutes in, centre Joel Anthony of Montreal helped preserve Canada's 5-2 lead. The left-hander first blocked centre Ali Traore's baby hook shot, then spiked guard Nando de Colo's three-point attempt as the shot clock expired.

Still, France scored 18 of its 28 first-half points in the paint and tied Canada at halftime.

"We tried to mix things up, a little man and little zone," Leo Rautins said. "They found some holes here and there, as good teams do."

Batum became the game's first double-digit scorer when he sliced through the lane and extended his six-feet-eight frame to finger roll in a layup with 6:58 left in the third quarter. The Portland Trailblazer gave France a 34-30 lead.

He finished the quarter with 18, and France trailed 46-48 going into the last 10 minutes.

"I have to be good sometimes to take over the game, and that's what I did tonight," said Batum, who scored 24 points.

France took the lead for good when Boris Diaw of the Charlotte Bobcats hit a three-pointer to make it 62-60 with 1:55 left. Diaw finished with eight points, six rebounds and five assists.

Ali Traore helped preserve Frances' 66-63 lead with 18 seconds left when he blocked a sweeping bank shot by Denham Brown.

"You hope to make the right decision and unfortunately that one kind of bit us," Leo Rautins said. "Unfortunately again we fell short but I'm pleased with the effort."

The last time the teams met in a major tournament was 2000, when France beat Canada 68-63 on its way to the silver medal in the Sydney Olympics.

Canada plays New Zealand (1-2) on Wednesday.