FRA - Poof! Magic’s Piétrus out of France’s EuroBasket qualifiers with wrist problem

PARIS (EuroBasket 2009) – France have as much NBA talent in their squad as any team in Europe but that won’t erase the disappointment of Les Bleus’ fans following the announcement that Mickaël Piétrus will not play for the national team this summer.

Needing to win the Additional Qualifying Round to reach the EuroBasket in Poland, Europe’s qualifying tournament for the 2010 FIBA World Championship, Vincent Collet’s team has lost its biggest perimeter threat because of a wrist injury that plagued Piétrus all season.

Left off the French EuroBasket squad two years ago by former coach Claude Bergeaud after indifferent displays with Golden State, Piétrus turned into a bona fide NBA star this year when he shot better than 38.5% from behind the arc and averaged 10.5 points per game in the post-season.

In Orlando’s 4-2 upset of Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals, Piétrus averaged almost 14 points per game and shot 47.2% from long range.

Though very effective for the Magic in the play-offs, the club doesn’t want him to risk aggravating the injury in international competition.

The French Basketball Federation released a statement that said: “Following the various medical examinations in Orlando that have been communicated to the medical staff of Team France that Mickaël Piétrus will not participate in the international campaign of the summer. It is confirmed that his right wrist injury requires a complete shutdown of several weeks and the introduction of a specific rehabilitation.”

Patrick Beesley, the director of the France team, said in the statement: "Mickaël, along with the staff of the France team, is obviously very disappointed. We knew for several weeks that these tests could deliver such a verdict.

“The consequences are obvious and do not forget that the wrist injury kept him out of 28 regular-season games and continued to cripple during the play-offs.

“In these circumstances, we understand that the Orlando franchise wants to devote the time required for Mickaël to rest so he is ready for the resumption of the NBA championship.”

Beesley added that he hoped to see Piétrus in a French jersey soon.

National team coach Vincent Collet will name Piétrus’ replacement in the squad in the coming days.

France will take on Italy and Finland in Group B of the Additional Qualifying Round.

If they finish top, they will take on the Group A winners (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium or Portugal) in a home-and-away tie to determine the last team to play at the EuroBasket in Poland.

The top six teams at the EuroBasket, other than Turkey, will qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

The Turks secured a spot several years ago when they won the right to host the event.

FIBA