Olympic basketball: France bullies Germany to advance to gold medal game

PARIS — On paper, the United States has a better Olympic basketball team than France.

So did Canada and Germany. It didn’t matter.

If the Americans reach Saturday’s gold medal game, they better come ready for a ferocious, physical and at times dysfunctional French team that will be waiting for them, spurred on by a raucous crowd here at Bercy Arena.

The French defeated Germany Thursday, 73-69, to advance to the Olympic finals. They did it in much the same manner as they beat a more talented Canadian team on Tuesday, by overwhelming their opponent and getting various players to step up in critical times.

The United States plays Serbia Thursday evening, with the winner advancing to the gold medal game.

NBA fans may expect the French team to be led by Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama. It isn’t.

Gobert is a secondary player here, getting just 5:09 of playing time against Germany after 3:41 in the Canada game. Gobert said it was because of a finger surgery, but the French coach cast doubt on that. The team plays well without him.

Wemby, meanwhile, plays more and causes havoc on the court due to his 7-foot-4 frame, but he hasn’t shot the ball well. He had 11 points but was 4 of 17 from the floor. The team did not run through him, although he did manage one of two free throws with 10.2 seconds remaining, allowing France to wilt the game away with fouls.