France name 17-man squad for November World Cup Qualifiers
PARIS (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - France coach Vincent Collet has whittled down his squad for the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers against Belgium and Bosnia and Herzegovina to 17 players.
Fourteen will attend the first training camp on Monday in Lille and be available for the November 24 game against Belgium in Antwerp.
The door will be open for three other players, members of EuroLeague clubs, to join the team for the November 27 game against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Le Directeur Technique National, Patrick Beesley et l’entraîneur de l'#EDFBasket, Vincent ont retenu 17 joueurs issus du #TeamFranceBasket pour participer en novembre aux matches de qualifications à la #FIBAWC 2019. https://t.co/TiN82QFyn8 pic.twitter.com/um3Jppm0mu
— Equipe France Basket (@FRABasketball) November 16, 2017
The most experienced in the group is long-time national team star Boris Diaw, one of the best ever to don the French jersey. Others that have represented Les Bleus in big competitions that have been included are Andrew Albicy, Fabien Causeur, Thomas Heurtel, Edwin Jackson, Mouhammadou Jaiteh, Alain Koffi, Louis Labeyrie and Kevin Seraphin.
| France 17-player squad for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers | |||
| Andrew Albicy | Axel Bouteille | Fabien Causeur | Boris Diaw |
| Moustapha Fall | Thomas Heurtel | William Howard | Edwin Jackson |
| Mouhammadou Jaiteh | Axel Julien | Lahaou Konate | Alain Koffi |
| Louis Labeyrie | Paul Lacombe | Amine Noua | Elie Okobo |
| Kevin Seraphin | |||
"The group presented today is both experienced and ambitious," Collet said. "We know the special circumstances of these first Qualifiers games for the World Cup and know that we have to start this phase with determination.
"Some of the players in this group have experienced national team competitions while others will wear the national team shirt for the first time. This youth has to bring us positive energy in these games that we're going to play.
"We have to be efficient right away and, whatever happens, we must be strong right from the start in order to qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019."
Among those that have shone for France at youth level and now have an opportunity to play for the senior team are Amine Noua of ASVEL Lyon Villeurbanne and Elie Okobo of Pau. Each has played to rave reviews the past 12 months for club and country.
Patrick Beesley, the national technical director and general manager of the French Basketball Federation, said: "With Vincent Collet, we managed to put together a strong group, consisting of players from Team France, in previously unknown conditions. In light of this, we've had to modify our first list and have decided to call on three players (Fabien Causeur, Thomas Heurtel and Kevin Seraphin) from EuroLeague clubs, even though there is uncertainty about their availability.
"The objective is to reinforce the group for the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, all the while keeping in consideration the commitment made by Team France players who have been mobilized for a number of weeks now. It's now up to us to start these Qualifiers on the right track."
FIBA
