France's Heurtel shows his class once again

RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - Thomas Heurtel is a man of few words. He lets his play on the basketball court do the talking and on Sunday against the two-time defending champions USA, his message was loud and clear.

In a 100-97 loss to the Americans, Heurtel scored 18 points, handed out 9 assists and corralled 8 rebounds.

Heurtel, the guard that pulled the strings in France's famous upset of Spain in the Quarter-Finals of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Madrid, spoke to FIBA.com.

FIBA.com: As confidence-building exercises go, that must have really instilled some self-belief in you and your teammates to play that well?
Heurtel: Everyone saw that we lost the game by three points, so, Tony didn't play. I think we played a great game and we'll see in the Semi-Final what happens. (France must win their Quarter-Final but could face the USA in the last four).

Heurtel was outstanding against the USA

FIBA.com: The loss to Australia seems like a long time ago. You guys really looked good out there for much of the game against the Americans.
Heurtel: Everyone wants to play against the USA. Everyone is motivated. It was a great game so, we'll see what happens in the Quarter-Finals first and then the Semi-Finals.

FIBA.com: You drilled a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and then looked at someone in the crowd and gave a "Thomas Heurtel" salute. What was that?
Heurtel: (Laughs) It was a bet with a teammate.

FIBA.com: You've been playing at a high level in Europe, both in Spain and Turkey and the Euroleague. Is that why you looked so comfortable out there?
Heurtel: Euroleague is a great competition but we saw them tonight, the players that are in the NBA, the superstars. They are difficult to play against, the game is faster but we played a great game.

FIBA