France advance to U19 World Cup final despite subpar performance by Wembanyama / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

The French U19 National Team defeated Serbia 75-69 (13-23; 20-16; 20-18; 22-12) to advance to the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup final.

2-pointers this season

67%29,0Points made:29,0Accuracy:67,4%Place in standings:1Record max:29Record min:29TeamU19 WCStatisticsSchedule

Serbia started off hot and gained a 10-point lead after the first quarter (13-23). France cut the deficit to six points going into halftime (33-39).

France got even closer in the third period, cutting their deficit to a single point towards the end of the quarter (53-54). After a 3-pointer from Rudy Demahis-Ballou, the Frenchmen were finally able to tip the scales in their favor in the fourth (58-57).

After that, Serbia never recovered. They only scored 12 points the rest of the way and lost the game by six.

France won the game despite a subpar performance by their leader Victor Wembanyama. Before this game, he was averaging 18.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.8 blocks, and 26.0 EFF in the tournament.

However, in this game, the 17-year-old only played nine minutes. He scored one point, grabbed three rebounds, blocked two shots, had three turnovers, and committed four fouls.

Regardless, Wenbayama (2.19) is projected to be selected with the first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

France will take on the United States in the tournament final. The Americans edged out the Canadian youth team in their semifinal's matchup. A final matchup will feature the world's two best young centers. USA is led by the potential first pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, Chet Holmgren (2.15).

Like what we are doing? Support us by becoming BN+ member.