Batum, France try to improve focus at second straight Olympics

RIO DE JANEIRO (RIO 2016 Olympic Games) - "Unfinished business" is how France's Nicolas Batum views this Rio Olympics.

Just four years ago, Batum, 23 at the time, was making his Olympic debut as France ended a long absence from the competition. They had reached the Final in 2000 but then failed to qualify for the Games that were held in Athens and Beijing.

But the team, Batum believes, should have done better in London. It reached the last eight before losing in a physical encounter against Spain.

"The first time we came, we were impressed by everything," he said to FIBA.com. "We were looking around like young kids and that's maybe why we missed something. Now we know what to expect and we're pretty focused on the games."

France made it to Rio but took a harder path.

"We're focused on our goal. We want a medal." - Batum

Last year, when the EuroBasket was held in Lille, France fell to Spain in an overtime thriller in the Semi-Finals and that meant they would have to win one of threeFIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs) to reach Rio.

"That was tough," Batum said. "We really wanted to come back here. We had unfinished business from four years ago so we did everything to make it happen."

The French travelled to Manila and won arguably the toughest of the three OQTs to make it to Rio.

Batum couldn't play in the wins over the Philippines and New Zealand because he was signing a new contract with the Charlotte Hornets but France didn't leave him off the roster. They used 11 players in their first two games and flew Batum to the Southeast Asia so he could play in the knockout wins over Turkey and Canada.

Now he wants to make the most of the opportunity in Rio.

"We're focused on our goal," Batum said. "We want a medal. There are a lot of teams aiming for that so we have to really focus." 

First up will be a game against Australia and that should allow France's Charles Kahudi to make his debut. Kahudi showed a lot of intensity at the Manila OQT and played well in his 10 minutes in the Final against Canada, scoring five points.

Kahudi had done a very good job for France while coming off the bench at EuroBasket 2011 to help them qualify but he did not make the Olympic team the following year.

Just as Batum has grown in stature since 2012, Kahudi has improved and also cemented his place on the France roster.

The Kinshasa-born forward has now made the France roster for three consecutive summers and four out of five in all.

He has been a good luck charm, too, because every time Vincent Collet has selected him, France have made the podium. Kahudi helped the team capture the EuroBasket 2013 title and finish third at the FIBA Basketball World Cup and at EuroBasket 2015.

"Hopefully I'll be able to come in the game, help my teammates win a game, no matter how, just being me." - Kahudi

"I'm really, really excited," Kahudi said. "I'm ready to start the competition and hopefully, we’re going to do something special."

Not making the team four years ago was a disappointment, yet Kahudi took it in his stride and set out to make it to Rio.

His game is more polished but perhaps more important than anything else, Collet knows that with Kahudi, he has someone that will defend and rebound like his life depends on it. He brings a lot of energy to the team.

"I got quite a bit older," he said, when asked how he'd changed in the four years. He turned 30 last month. "My game changed a little bit more. I just want to go out and do what I've got to do. Hopefully I'll be able to come in the game, help my teammates win a game, no matter how, just being me."

First up for France is a game against Australia. It's an encounter that Batum is looking forward to.

"Australia, that's a great matchup for us to start the tournament, a good team like them," he said. "They have great players, a great coaching staff."

Batum, coming off a terrific campaign with the Charlotte Hornets, said: "The Olympics is huge for us. I had a good season so to get a medal here would be a real exclamation mark."

FIBA