France rounded off a fine tournament by edging Lithuania 95-93 in a thrilling third-placed play-off at the FIBA Basketball World Cup to clinch the bronze medal in Madrid on Saturday. France, who entered the tournament without star man Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs, suffered an agonising defeat to Serbia in the semi-finals. However, Vincent Collets men can leave with their heads held high after a superb World Cup that included a quarter-final victory over hosts Spain, a fourth-quarter burst proving crucial against Lithuania. The closeness of the scoreline was matched by each sides top scorer, Portland Timbers small forward Nicolas Batum leading the way for France with 27 points, while Jonas Valanciunas starred for Lithuania with 25. The competition will now reach a climax on Sunday when defending champions Team USA - who beat Lithuania in the semi-finals - meet Serbia. #FMGotelSports #FIBAWorldCup
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 06:50:35 +0000
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