France go with consistency - nine players back from U18 European third place team
PARIS (France) - France are going with consistency for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2019 as head coach Frederic Crapez's team includes just three changes from the side that finished third at the FIBA U18 European Championship 2018.
Joel Ayayi, who was named to the All-Star Five at the U18 European tournament last summer, will be one of the main leaders of the team in Heraklion back in the mix along with Mathis Dossou Yovo and Karlton Dimanche.
| France's roster for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2019 | |||
| Joel Ayayi | Kenny Baptiste | Lucas Bourhis | Yohan Choupas |
| Karlton Dimanche | Mathis Dossou Yovo | Nicholas Evtimov | Jacques Eyoum |
| Florian Leopold | Yoan Makoundo | Babacar Niasse | Hugo Robineau |
The three players who were not on the U18 team are Nicholas Evtimov, Yoan Makoundo and Babacar Niasse. But those players are not new to their France U19 teammates.
Evtimov, whose father Vassil Evtimov played at the FIBA EuroBasket for France (2001) and Bulgaria (2009), and Niasse were both on the France team at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2016 with six of the U19 team members. Makoundo plays at Cholet Basket along with Dimanche, Florian Leopold and Hugo Robineau while one of Niasse's teammate at Elan Chalon is Dossou Yovo.
France will face off against China, Puerto Rico and Serbia in Group D of the U19 World Cup in Heraklion.
FIBA
