MONTPELLIER (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - If recent history is anything to go by, Finland's game at France on Sunday in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers is going to be a humdinger.

The two sides are meeting in the same city, Montpellier, where they traded blows in an overtime thriller at FIBA EuroBasket 2015. In that game, France's Tony Parker became the leading scorer in FIBA EuroBasket history (a mark that was then surpassed last year by Pau Gasol). The player that really caught the eye for Finland was Jamar Wilson, in his first meaningful game with national team.

Wilson, who had played professionally in the country and also married a Finn and sings the national anthem, whipped up a patriotic fervor for the traveling Susijengi fans by pouring in an eye-popping, 21 points. He very nearly led his team to an upset win.

At FIBA EuroBasket 2017 in Helsinki, the two sides did battle on opening day and Finland, this time, prevailed. They scraped an 86-84 win. Finnish sensation Lauri Markkanen stole the headlines with an amazing 22-point night.

”It seems that within the last a couple of years, all the games against France have been decided with really narrow margins," said Finland veteran Shawn Huff.

"I guess it's because when you play a certain team many years in a row, you start to learn their plays, you adapt to their playing style and get to know the matchups. That’s how these games become a coin toss.

"We used to get whipped by France in the past but lately ... we've been able to snatch victories over them. We still think it’s an accomplishment in itself to play a close game against France, who have been among the best teams in Europe in this decade.”

Wilson was a player the Finns counted on in the First Round of the European Qualifiers. His 20 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals were the difference as they edged Bulgaria, 82-80, in their very first Qualifier last November. He is averaging 14.0 points and a team-high 8.2 assists in six games.

However, the New York native didn't play on Thursday in Finland's 85-81 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the new Espoo Arena because of a knee injury he picked up in a recent warm-up game against Latvia. He is said to be 50-50 to face France.

Even without Wilson, and Markkanen, who decided not to play in the fourth window, Finland opened up a 24-point advantage over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Sasu Salin connected on 6 of 8 shots from 3-point range and scored 27 points while Petteri Koponen had 14. 

Other heroes included Alex Murphy, the younger brother of Susijengi big man Erik. Alex Murphy hit two free-throws with 1:13 remaining to give the hosts an 83-78 advantage and help turn back the visitors.

Alex Murphy played an important role for Finland in their win on Thursday.

Finnish fans also took a good look at some of the up-and-coming players, like lock-down defender, Fiifi Aidoo. The 22-year-old had 6 points, 4 assists and 2 steals in less than 13 minutes. 

Highly-rated Aidoo showed he's now ready to help the Susijengi

“The victory over Bosnia was huge for us to keep our FIBA World Cup dream alive," Huff said. "Our plan is to play as a team and play with intensity. Each and every team in Europe is difficult to play against and anyone can beat anyone, like Bulgaria showed. A victory over France would be a huge stepping stone for us on our way to China."

France lost some of the shine on their Qualifiers campaign when they fell in a 74-68 upset at Bulgaria on Thursday.

The hosts, 6-1, were  therefore joined at the top of Group K by the Czech Republic (also 6-1), who edged Russia 80-78 on Thursday. The Finns, who went 3-3 in the First Round, improved to 4-3 and leapfrogged the Russians (3-4) into third place.

An area that Collet identified as problematic for France, at least in their defeat, was poor free-throw shooting. It's hard to dispute that with Les Bleus making just 10 of 18 attempts for a woeful 55.6 percent. That game is now history, as is Finland's home triumph over Bosnia and Herzegovina. All that matters now is Montpellier.

FIBA