France hammer Venezuela for third win in a row

RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - France claimed their third win in a row at the Olympic Basketball Tournament by beating Venezuela, 96-56, on Friday night.

Les Bleus improved to 3-1 in Group A to join the USA and Australia in the Quarter-Finals. Meanwhile, Venezuela dropped to 1-3 and must combine a win against the Boomers on Sunday with a China defeat of Serbia in order to advance.

Tony Parker had 12 of his 14 points in the first half as France turned an 18-17 deficit late in the first quarter into a 42-30 advantage at the break.

A run of 8 unanswered points put them in front 25-18 early in the second period and they had their first double-digit lead of the night, 34-24, on Antoine Diot's pair of free-throws with 4:03 to go to halftime.

It was more of the same after the break as they kept increasing their lead, heading into the final frame up 66-47. They came four points shy of becoming the only team other than the USA to reach the century mark in the tournament.

Turning Point: Nestor Colmaneres edged Venezuela in front 18-17 with 1:27 to play in the first quarter but France scored the last six points of the period and the first two of the second to set them on the way to a resounding win

Stats Don't Lie: France shot 41-of-67 (61 percent) from the field, including 36-of-52 (69 percent) from two-point range. 

Hero: Joffrey Lauvergne had a game-high 17 points on 8-of-9 from the field to go with 4 rebounds and 2 assists in just 19 minutes.

Bottom Line: France's opening loss to Australia is a distant memory and they appear to be finding their stride as the tournament progresses. 

FIBA