France shatter Great Britain’s medal hopes.
Great Britain’s quarter final match against France got off to the perfect start as Jon Pollock scored a three pointer in the first offence of the game. The early score clearly unsettled France as they missed a lot of opportunities early in the quarter. Sofyane Mehiaoui settled the nerves of the French with a three pointer of his own as the scores levelled out. Dan Highcock who had come on for Ian Sagar, looked particularly sharp as the period drew to a close with GB leading 13 – 12.
As the second quarter began, France looked strong and began to take a lot more of their chances. They soon opened up a three point lead and with a strong defence, GB were struggling to find a way through. It wasn’t until five minutes into the quarter that Gaz Choudhry managed to score GB’s first points. Terry Bywater then looked to be in inspired form as he scored three baskets in quick succession and helped to turn around a frustrating period for GB into a half time lead of 23 – 19.
The second half continued in a similar fashion as Bywater scored two free throws and Simon Brown contributed with his first points of the game. However as well as GB were playing they couldn’t find the breakthrough to pull away from France. The French remained consistent and crucially scored a high percentage of their free throws with Sofyane Mehiaoui the main threat. Audrey Cayol also scored well with some important field goals to take France into a 37 – 35 lead going into the final quarter.
The consistency of the French began to tell as their dominance for field goals and from the line was beginning to make the difference between the two sides. Their offence began to cut through the GB defence with ease as Mehiaoui and Cayol continued to push for the victory. A Jon Pollock three pointer was not enough to rouse GB as the French were relentless in their control of the match. GB moved to a full court press but it still couldn’t contain the French offence.
The pressure seemed to tell for GB as they gave away a number of fouls and the French kept their scoring consistent and as Mehiaoui scored again to take his free throw percentage to 63% accuracy, an eight point lead opened up. To make matters worse, GB’s top scorer, Terry Bywater received his fifth foul and left the game. By this point the French had already built an unassailable lead and by this point it petered out as the final buzzer sounded with France winning 59 – 50.
There was disappointment for the home crowd for the second time today after the GB women’s team also crashed out of the tournament while the French celebrated an unlikely win on Bastille Day back home.
For GB, reflection on what might have been and an unwanted 5/6 classification game still to play.
Final Score 59 – 50
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