Paris: France lined up a rematch with Germany in the men’s Olympic basketball semi-finals after an 82-73 win on Tuesday over previously unbeaten Canada.
Guerschon Yabusele and Isaia Cordinier picked up the slack for a subdued Victor Wembanyama, helping establish an early advantage that France never relinquished.
Yabusele led the way for the hosts with 22 points and Cordinier added 20. Evan Fournier scored 15 and Mathias Lessort notched 13 as Wembanyama was limited to seven, while still hauling down 12 rebounds.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a game-high 27 points for Canada, with RJ Barrett contributing 16.
Third foul
France advance to face Germany for the second time in under a week on Thursday, having lost 85-71 to the World Cup champions in Lille last Friday.
Canada swept through the group phase undefeated but immediately found themselves up against it as France raced into a 23-10 lead in the first quarter.
Cordinier ignited the Bercy Arena crowd with a powerful dunk and successive threes, while Yabusele also found his groove early as Wembanyama never really got going.
Wembanyama struggled offensively, missing all five of his shots from the floor in the first half and hitting only two of four free throws.
Barrett, who averaged 21 points in the group stage, picked up his third foul before half-time to add to Canada’s problems.
Yabusele buried another three to send a swaggering France into the break full of momentum, in sharp contrast to a few days ago when spectators in Lille whistled after a disastrous first half against Germany.
Tactical moves
Cordinier extended the lead to 19 to begin the third period but Gilgeous-Alexander kick-started the fightback as Canada cut the gap to single figures.
Wembanyama hit his first field goal with 11 minutes left before a surging Canada pulled to within five.
That signalled the moment Fournier, reprimanded by his coach Vincent Collet for public remarks about the team’s tactics after the Germany loss, came to the fore to put Canada away down the stretch.
The NBA veteran scored 12 points alone in the final quarter including a distant three with the shot clock expiring, ensuring Tokyo silver medallists France have the chance to set the record straight against Germany.
