BEL/FRA - France beat Belgium to set up showdown with USA

TOULOUSE (FIBA U17 World Championship for Women) – France beat Belgium 59-49 in the second semi-final of the FIBA U17 World Championship for Women in Toulouse and will face the USA in Sunday's final.

The win was a measure of revenge for the home side, who lost against these very opponents in the semi-final of last year’s U16 European Championship.

Olivia Epoupa with her darting attacking runs helped give France a 9-4 lead early, much to the delight of the more than 1,800 fans in attendance.

Emma Meesseman and Harriet Nawezhi were always threatening for Belgium, but Alice Nayo converted Belgian turnovers into four quick points to put the hosts up 17-10.

Meesseman and Julie Vanloo got their team back on track early and edged them in front, 21-20, midway through the second quarter.

Epoupa and Christelle Diallo tipped the balance back in France’s favour though and they went into the locker room at halftime up 29-25.

The French supporters were cheering again early in the third quarter when they took their biggest lead, 39-27 before Hind Ben Abdelkader and Vanloo restored Belgian hopes, bringing them within 46-38 with 10 minutes left to play.

Daniel Goethals was talking hard to his girls in the break.  His words seemed to work as they got within three, 49-46, but Esther Niamke sliced her way through the Belgian defense for timely lay-ups down the stretch to ensure the victory.

Quotes

Arnaud Guppillote (France head coach): This game is a remake of last year’s U16 European Championship semi-final. We played with a lot of heart on the court, knowing that Belgium are a great team and play amazing basketball. Not only do I respect Dan (Belgium head coach Daniel Goethals) as a man, but also as a coach. We achieved an impressive win tonight.  We also did a good job of keeping our emotions in check. We played in front of our fans, with the last European championship still in mind as 11 out of 12 girls played last summer.

Olivia Epoupa (France guard): Offensively, we had to change our game quite a bit. It was tough. Emma Messeman was tough to stop.

Daniel Goethals (Belgium head coach): Congratulations to France and good luck to them in the final. We were overwhelmed by the emotions of the occasion and that prevented us from winning this kind of game. We saw that the young ladies are not used to playing in full arenas. When there is too much emotion, you lose part or all of your abilities and faculties. We lost and wasted our energy in complaining instead of being organised and focused on the game. France remained solid and resilient throughout. We were dominated in the rebounding battle and didn’t shoot well.

Lien Delmulle (Belgian forward): I feel bad right now. We had strong will tonight, maybe too much. Unlike the other games, we weren’t able to come up and play as a team. We tried individually to find solutions, but obviously it didn’t pay-off. I am a bit overwhelmed by the emotion to talk more.

FIBA/LOC