FRA - Les Bleuets earn Billant praise

NOVI SAD (FIBA U19 World Championship) - France coach Richard Billant felt his side's ability to "kill the match off quickly" was the key to their 106-57 win over China in the eighth-finals of the FIBA U19 World Championship in Novi Sad.

Monday night's Group E victory means Les Bleuets, who had 23 points from Edwin Jackson, have already qualified for the quarter-finals.

The French played China in a warm-up match in Spain ahead of this event, managing an 86-61 success on July 6.

Billant was much happier with his team's display a week and a half later, as they underlined their status as serious contenders for the title.

"We imposed ourselves at the start, as opposed to the match we played in Spain," he said.

"At that time, we didn't know them at all, and it took us three quarters before we made the difference.

"I insisted on our necessity to defend tall and kill the match off quickly.

"It was good - we are already in the quarter-finals but there remains two big matches for us."

Jackson, the Adecco ASVEL guard, excelled in the first group stage, pouring in team-high hauls against both Lithuania (25 points) and Brazil (24 points), and was at it again against the Chinese.

He was four from six (66.6%) from outside the arc and drained five from seven (71.4%) from two-point range to finish with 23 points.

Jackson was helped by Abdoulaye Mbaye (15 points) and captain Nicolas Batum (13 points, five rebounds and eight assists), while Ludovic Vaty grabbed 10 points and six rebounds.

"I was very reassured by our work on the boards, and by the performance of Ludovic Vaty."

Serbia, who are third in the group, are next up for the French, and Billant said: "I believe we will have to work on our motivation, compared to this game.

"I have been impressed by the Serbian centers. They made us suffer terribly last year in a warm-up game and the priority will be to suppress their centers."

Steve Douglas
FIBA