France head coach Vincent Collet was excited to see his team advance to the gold medal game in the Olympic Basketball Tournament, where they will face Team USA in a rematch from the 2021 Final in Tokyo, Japan.
Coach Collet said he and his players are very happy that they will play for the gold medal in front of their fans, and are preparing for a battle against the Americans.
“For all of us, reaching the Final in Paris was a dream. So I asked the players before the game, are you gonna let the Germans steal the Final from your fans? They were saying no, no way, we would die on the court, but no way. That’s why we did it. French media asked me what are we feeling, are we proud. No. We aren’t feeling pride. We’re feeling happiness. Maybe tomorrow or later, we’ll feel pride, too. But right now we are happy,” Vincent Collet said, via FIBA.com.
France turned things around after a struggling start in the tournament and eliminated fellow contenders Canada and Germany en route to the Final. For their part, Team USA needed a 36-point performance from Stephen Curry and a comeback from down 17 to defeat Serbia and reach the gold medal.
Ahead of Saturday’s Final, Stephen Curry expects the hosts to bring their A-Game and fight tooth and nail to win.
