E.Fournier does not promise services to Lithuania: we will not play with the intention of killing Bosnians
Having lost three times in a row at the European Championship, the Lithuanian national team has lost control of its destiny. Now we will have to believe in a favorable result in the next meeting.
Lithuanians need to win both remaining matches and hope that France will beat Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, there are no shortage of danger signs here either – the teams met in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers and then the Bosnians were stronger (96:90 after two overtimes).
After reviewing the return match Evan Fournier also to convince Lithuanian basketball fans.
“We want to get back at them. But we are already at this stage, so it is more important for us to demonstrate as much as necessary. Will we be able to develop so that we can comfortably take ourselves to the round of 16? Nobody wants to lose to the same team twice, but we will not go into the game with the intention of killing the Bosnians. We have to play our game and develop good habits, be disciplined,” the Frenchman told Eurohoops.
The defender singled out the workload and the lack of time for rest during the European Championship.
“Playing two days in a row is very difficult. Doing it in Europe and doing it in the NBA are different things. There are fewer matches here, so it’s more intense. If you play at 8:30 PM, you won’t go to bed until around 3:00 AM. of the night This is a serious challenge. This applies to everyone, but it would be good if FIBA gave more days between matches. Four games in five days? It is very difficult”, E. Fournier assured.
The fatigue of the day’s matches was noticeable in the Frenchman’s game. He scored 27 points in the victorious match against Lithuania, just 12 points in the match against Hungary the very next evening.
The Bosnians and the French will face off in Cologne on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., the Lithuanians at 6:15 p.m. will play against the Hungarians. The potentially decisive match against the Bosnians will take place on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.