French National Team Suffers 38-Point Loss to College Squad — Excuses Follow
The Tricolores, in a secondary squad reinforced by Sylvain Francisco and Guerschon Yabusele, were defeated 110:72 by Murray State. The Panathinaikos star tried to explain: "They just threw us together."
A major embarrassment for the French national basketball team. The Tricolores were defeated on Monday 110:72 by Murray State from the NCAA, in a preparation game ahead of the World Cup qualifiers. The French, who appeared with a depleted squad alongside a small number of experienced players from European basketball, did not pose a real challenge and fell into a double-digit deficit right from the start.
The Americans started with a storm, winning the first quarter 27:5, went into the break with a crushing 62:25 lead, and did not take their foot off the pedal in the second half on their way to a 38-point victory.
Leading France was the new Panathinaikos signing, Sylvain Francisco, who finished with 23 points (on poor shooting percentages), but also committed five of the 28 turnovers his team made. His teammate at the Greek club, Guerschon Yabusele, also participated and scored three points alongside four rebounds.
After the game, Francisco tried to explain the defeat on social media:
"For me, it was a comeback, and for Guerschon too — he arrived only at halftime. We didn't know each other. Everyone is in different physical shape. They just threw us together for a game against a team that has been training since June 1st."
The guard added that the opponent's advantage was clear:
"They have an offensive and defensive system, and they play with high intensity."
Despite the embarrassment, this is a secondary French national team and not the senior squad. The Tricolores will return later this month to the 2027 World Cup qualifiers, where the first team will face Slovenia on August 27th and Sweden three days later.
