By Sean Miyaguchi,
Veteran France forward Nicolas Batum said the Olympic host was lucky to remain unbeaten in the Paris Games men's basketball tournament after narrowly avoiding an all-time upset against Japan on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old Los Angeles Clipper said Tokyo Games silver medalist France had not expected an easy game against world No. 26 Japan, and the Asian side demonstrated the quality of its roster and coaching staff in the 94-90 overtime thriller at Lille's Pierre Mauroy Stadium.
France led for most of the game but had fallen behind 84-80 with 16 seconds left before guard Matthew Strazel came to the rescue with a last-gasp four-point play that sent the Group B clash to overtime in which the home side escaped with the win.
"We didn't expect it to be easy and that was our coach's speech," Batum said, referring to France boss Vincent Collet's pregame talk to his team.
"They (Japan) won't give up, even if you go up eight, 10 (points), they will find a way to come back. And they did."
Batum, sporting a bleeding lip, singled out 1.72-meter Japan point guard Yuki Kawamura for his game-high 29-point performance, including a series of clutch fourth-quarter baskets that nearly delivered a famous victory following star forward Rui Hachimura's ejection from the game.
"He's amazing. I even told him," Batum said. "This is the biggest stage of basketball and there's always one guy who can have a crazy game like him. I'm happy for him, but I'm happy we won. He's a great guy."
Kawamura is set to join the Memphis Grizzlies' training camp later this summer in a bid to earn a roster spot, and while reaching the NBA is a tall order for a player of his stature, Batum believes he has a fighting chance.
"He's very good at basketball, so why not," he said.
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Olympics: Japan falls to France in men's basketball thriller
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Paris Olympics latest: July 30, 2024
