While Lithuania dominated Lebanon 84-66 to stay undefeated atop Group D, Spurs’ draftee Robertas Javtokas did not play.
Nando De Colo, however, did play in a losing effort against New Zealand, which was their second straight loss in Group D.
For De Colo, it was a tale of two halves, although really, it was all about the first quarter before everything dropped off and he lulled back into inconsistency.
To start the game, De Colo looked more comfortable and poised leading France at the point. He came out of the gates on fire, sending his first two three-point attempts swishing through the net.
Defensively, he got caught on a few screens and was mismatched in the post, but he impressed me in denying position and not allowing the postup. On another possession, he was pinned against a New Zealand player that towered over him, but realized the ball would get passed in, so he jumped into the lane and picked it off.
De Colo ended the first quarter with eight points, but only scored two more points the rest of the game.
His shot just didn’t fall until he hit a mid-range jumper midway through the third quarter. With no luck on the offensive end, De Colo decided to sag off his assignment to help defend in the paint to stop penetration and help on the boards. But that’s when his foul trouble started. At the end of the third quarter, he had three fouls and then picked up the fourth and fifth in the fourth, which limited his playing time.
De Colo ended the game with 10 points on three-of-eight shooting from the field, four rebounds and two steals.
France will be looking to stop their two-game skid against Turkey on Sunday.
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