France looked ready to run away with it
For 20 minutes, France produced exactly the response Frédéric Fauthoux wanted after Thursday’s 90-87 defeat in Belgrade.
According to L’Équipe’s report from Orléans, Les Bleus led 54-35 at half-time after combining aggressive defence with excellent outside shooting. Victor Wembanyama was far more influential than three days earlier, while Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot produced his best scoring performance for the national team.
France’s tactical adjustment was significant. Jaylen Hoard replaced Rudy Gobert in the starting five and was asked to defend Jokic despite giving away considerable size. The official Team France Basket account of the game notes that Jokic missed his first five field-goal attempts as France’s more mobile defensive approach initially frustrated him.
Wembanyama also looked much more comfortable. After scoring only 10 points with six turnovers in Belgrade, the new French captain finished the rematch with 18 points and five rebounds. France’s lead reached 58-40 early in the third quarter.
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Then the entire game changed.
Jokic dragged Serbia all the way back
France’s offence became increasingly static after half-time, while Serbia began finding transition opportunities and feeding Jokic closer to the basket.
The three-time NBA MVP went from a difficult opening period to a monstrous final stat line of 34 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Serbia erased the French advantage completely, drawing level at 68-68 in the 32nd minute before Nikola Jovic eventually gave the visitors their first lead of the evening.
France had to respond without relying exclusively on Wembanyama. Sylvain Francisco became crucial in the fourth quarter, hitting a huge three-pointer, a mid-range shot and combining with Gobert for an alley-oop as the hosts rebuilt a six-point advantage.
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But the game refused to settle.
Missed free throws and an offensive foul by Wembanyama left France only narrowly ahead entering the final minute. Then Marko Guduric drove to the basket and converted an acrobatic lay-up with exactly 4.7 seconds remaining.
Serbia led 90-89.
Hoard produces a remarkable game-winner
France did not call time-out.
Francisco received the inbound pass, moved the ball up the floor and found Hoard around mid-court. Instead of attempting a desperate long-range shot, Hoard attacked the unprotected basket and released a lay-up just before the buzzer.
It dropped.
The official FIBA report on the finish describes how Serbia’s transition defence failed to recover after Guduric’s apparent game-winner, leaving Hoard a direct route to the rim for the 91-90 victory.
For Wembanyama, the moment also brought his first victory since being appointed France captain. Speaking afterwards, he told L’Équipe that France had “taken a step forward” and stressed that the group still needs to learn quickly because it has had relatively little time together.
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Wembanyama was also blunt about the collapse after half-time. France had proved it could build a huge advantage against an elite opponent, but it had also shown how rapidly that advantage could disappear.
That was precisely Fauthoux’s conclusion. The French coach described the performance as a “clear progression” compared with Belgrade, but identified consistency over 40 minutes as the next step.
The friendly period is now over
The two Serbia matches were preparation. France’s next two are not.
The official FIBA World Cup qualifying schedule has France hosting Slovenia in Paris on Thursday, August 27 before travelling to Stockholm to face Sweden on Sunday, August 30. France enter the second round top of Group L with a 5-1 record, while Slovenia begin the stage at 3-3.
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The 91-90 victory therefore gives France something more useful than another exhibition result.
It showed that Wembanyama and his new teammates can build a 19-point lead against one of Europe’s strongest teams, but also that a poor quarter is enough for Jokic-level opposition to erase it completely.
Against Slovenia on Thursday, that margin for error disappears.
