Paris can breathe a sigh of relief! France can breathe a sigh of relief! Victor Wembanyama and Co. outlast heavyweights Canada as Les Bleus march on. Things became tense when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s rally almost cast a shadow of doubt in Bercy Arena. But the cloud was pierced by a late dagger from Evan Fournier, which put the game beyond the visitor’s reach in the dying minutes. Wemby, who had cold feet before the tournament, has now found his usual rhythm as the crowds can celebrate and dance long into the night.

But the job is far from over. The 19-year-old’s mature head knows that all so well and he is making sure his teammates get to know it too and put their differences behind them. Notably, Wembanyama answered like an experienced pro in a post-game interview. “It’s the chance of a lifetime. Today we showed how to seize it. But the hardest part is yet to come. Today we played with 6 people with the crowd, it was incredible,” the Spurs rookie said. Yes, he really said they played with 6 people, but not for what many fans accused them of. The game was not short of its fair share of controversies, adding that extra bit of spice in it, needed for the big occasions!

The hosts had 42 free throws compared to Canada’s 25, which put the officials back in the crosshairs of the fans. The same happened in South Sudan’s game against Serbia, sparking passionate rants from the defeated dark horses. But this time there was no such thing, and Canada accepted their loss without any real outburst. They were definitely favorites, but France had something else in their mind.

Taking about the upset, Wemby said, “We all had to realize our roles, our history, and the direction we wanted to take. We had four days — that’s a lot of time to think and fix things. The players were dedicated to fixing everything,” via Ben Golliver. He went to thank the endless pouring of support from his countrymen during this journey of a lifetime. But despite Victor Wembanyama’s words of unity, there was rumbling in the French camp, something that could’ve had a vile effect on the game.

Victor Wembanyama and France see it through, amidst locker room discontent feeling

France won 2 of 3 in the group stages before falling to Germany, their opponent again for the semi-final. After the earlier loss, there were grumblings in the French ranks with today’s downtown hero Evan Fournier choosing a vocal approach. “I think we lack fundamentals. We have to move on. At times, I think we get it wrong in the way we want to play. And we pay the price for that.”

“These days, the best defense is offense. It’s no longer the game of the 1990s or 2000s where you could defend half-court. Offense is essential,” Fournier said after the defeat. “We lost a match. It’s a pain in the ass. We’ll be in Paris, we will have a better match. Anyway, we won’t be the favorites in this match. That’s clear, we’re not going to lie to each other.”

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t show more beautiful things. We are ready for it,” Fournier further added about their chances against France before coming into today’s game. The clash of ideologies won’t help France going forward, but they still managed to overcome the tough Canada challenge. Victor Wembanyama only recorded 7 points but was a dominant presence under the rim with 12 boards.

Guerschon Yabusele led in scoring for France with 22 points followed by Cordinier’s 20 points and the duo’s neat display from downtown. The focus now shifts to Germany on Thursday, and with only one hurdle between them and the Gold Medal game, France can expect to play with their ‘6th man’ again as the capacity crowd in Bercy will push Les Bleus forward!

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.