Batum takes responsibility for France's elimination: 'I'm scared to go home' / News - Basketnews.com

Nicolas Batum addressed his share of responsibility in France's loss to Latvia and Les Bleus' early elimination from the World Cup's Round of 16.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Just a few minutes after he blasted the French federation for their decision not to allow Thomas Heurtel to play for the national team,Nicolas Batum addressed his share of responsibility in France's elimination from the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Player of the Game EFF 22 Rolands Smits Points 20 Accuracy 8-10 Rebounds 2 Assists 2

"It's a huge disappointment for us," the veteran forward reiterated in the postgame presser, following a fatal loss to Latvia.

"We came here with big expectations and we let a lot of people down, ourselves first. We have a big thing coming in 12 months," Batum continued referring to the Olympic Games in Paris.

"From players to coaches to staff, we should wonder why we're here. What matters is that name in front of the jersey. We didn't do it the last couple of weeks. We're going to get crushed. It's part of sports," he said.

Batum named himself, Nando de Colo, Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier as those who should set an example for other players on the squad. In this respect, he took responsibility for France's poor defensive performance throughout the crucial outing.

"That's our strength," he said. "We're one of the top 2-3 teams defensively in every tournament. They scored more than 23 points in three quarters. That's not us.

I should have been one of the guys to show leadership and show my guys how to do it. I didn't do it and that's on me. We have to get back as a team. it's a big blow. We led for 36 minutes, but we had the chance to be on the right side in the past," he acknowledged.

Batum called the elimination "the biggest disappointment" he's ever experienced in France's jersey.

"I've had tough losses, but way further. When you lose in the quarter-finals or the semis, you can say that you've competed. We didn't pass the first round.

I wasn't really ashamed with that jersey and now I'm scared to go home. It's the first time I'm ashamed to wear this jersey because a lot of people believe in us. We need a real commitment from everybody. The reaction is going to show why we're a great team," he stressed.

France / Schedule

Canada France95-65 France Latvia86-88 Lebanon FranceTue09:45

One of the game's turning points was Nando De Colo's ejection with a second unsportsmanlike foul. France were up by nine points with less than seven minutes remaining on the game clock.

"That was the turnaround of the game," Batum confirmed.

"The momentum completely switched. We lost our general," he said referring to the veteran guard.

"It was a big blow for us. It put the crowd back to it and we should have down the crows. We still had a chance to stay alive. When we didn't come with the right mindset, we can lose to anybody. It's a good kick in the butt for us."

"When we lost de Colo, we lost momentum," coach Vincent Collet concurred.

"We were dominating at that time and then we made some silly fouls, missed one switch and gave up offensive rebounds. Everything was against us, but we didn't have the same chemistry and energy as in the last competitions," he went on to say.

Collet pointed out that France had the lead for almost the entire game, adding that "Latvia were fighting like crazy for 40 minutes."

"That's why I wanted to congratulate them," he argued.

"For sure, it's a nightmare for us. We expected a reaction after Friday's game [the blowout loss to Canada] and I think we got it. We played much better for three quarters but that wasn't enough. Our spirit wasn't at the Latvian level."

Evan Fournier, author of 27 points, conceded that Latvia played "with a lot of poise and heart."

"Congrats to them. We didn't play as good as we wanted to, obviously. We didn't have enough to finish it," the New York Knicks guard-forward said.

"We will go home, it's very hard, very tough. We didn't think we'd leave the tournament like that. We have to learn from it and come back next year."

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