Today in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, the World Basketball Festival concluded as Team USA faced the French national team in an exhibition game before the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.
In the end, Team USA beat France, 86-55.
After the game, I spoke with French guard and San Antonio Spurs’ 2009 draftee, Nando de Colo to talk to him about the loss against the US and what the team needs to do before the World Championship begins later this month.
Jeff: This was the first time the French team played Team USA and unfortunately it ended in a loss for France. Got to be a difficult loss.
Nando: It was a difficult loss. We were not ready for this game. They played very tough and aggressive.
What areas does the team need to address before going to Turkey?
We need to be together on defense and on offense we must move the ball. When we move the ball we can play against each team at the Worlds but if we take the shot after one pass it becomes difficult for us.
For the game, France did not shoot the ball well. Had to be frustrating for the entire game.
Exactly. We need to shoot better. We have to move the ball to have better looks.
Heading into the game, what did your coach, Vincent Collet, talk to the team about Team USA?
He said they (Team USA) are aggressive so we have to move the ball. When we played against Canada we played too much one-on-one. That’s not our role. We must play together. We don’t have a lot of big men so we need better passing.
Even though France lost, were there any positives to take away from this game?
In the first half we scored. We moved the ball and when we scored we got back on defense.
Looking forward to playing in the World Championship in Turkey?
Yeah. We have one more week before the Worlds but we still have much to learn.
For the game, de Colo finished with five points, one steal, one assist, one rebound, was 2-2 from the free-throw line, hit one three-point shot in 20 minutes of play.
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