France drops World Cup exhibition to Australia, Josh Green suffers injury / News - Basketnews.com

Evan Fournier had 29 points, but that was not enough to overcome Australia in the FIBA World Cup friendly game.

Credit: AFP-SCANPIX, Screenshot Credit AFP-SCANPIX, Screenshot

France concluded its FIBA World Cup 2023 preparation cycle with the first defeat, as Vincent Collet's team fell to Australia 74-78 in Tokyo.

Leading up to this game, the French national team had enjoyed a streak of six consecutive victories. They won over Tunisia (93-36), Montenegro (80-69), Venezuela (86-67), Lithuania twice (90-72 and 76-70), and Japan (88-70).

Australia, on the other hand, still has one more game left in its preparations before the World Cup. They are set to face Georgia on Tuesday. Prior to this match, Brian Goorjian's team had defeated Venezuela (97-41) and South Sudan (88-67) but lost against Brazil (86-90).

Josh Giddey stood out for the victorious Australian side tonight, posting 12 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals in the span of 27 minutes.

However, Australia lost Josh Green to an injury. He went down in the second quarter with what ESPN's Olgun Uluc was told was an ankle injury.

Per the same report, Green didn't check back into the game but returned to the bench and wasn't receiving any treatment, which is a good sign that it's nothing too concerning.

Meanwhile, Evan Fournier was the standout performer for the French national team, dropping 29 points, including 7 out of 9 two-pointers, 4 out of 5 triples, and 3 of 7 free throws. Fournier also grabbed 3 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, and stole 3 balls from his opponents, all within a 22-minute playing time.

Australia is slated to face Finland, Germany, and Japan in the World Cup, while France will take on Lebanon, Canada, and Latvia in their initial games.

Australia: Josh Giddey 12, Nick Kay 12, Dante Exum 11, Patty Mills 11, Duop Reath 11.

France: Evan Fournier 29, Isaia Cordinier 12, Guerschon Yabusele 10, Rudy Gobert 9.

Game highlights:

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