France now 3-0 at worlds, tops Canada
August 31, 2010
IZMIR, Turkey (AP)—Nicolas Batum(notes) and Mickael Gelabale(notes) each hit a pair of freethrows in the final 17 seconds to help France clinch a 68-63 win over Canada onTuesday at the basketball world championship.
France center Ali Traore blocked a running hook by Denham Brown with 18seconds left in the game that would have cut the lead to one.
The victory puts France (3-0) in a position to win the six-team Group D whenit plays Lithuania on Wednesday. It was Canada’s third straight loss, andcrippled its chances to finish in the top four in the group and advance to thesingle-elimination round.
Batum led France with 24 points, while no other French player scored morethan eight points. Canada’s Levon
Kendall led Canada with 15 points, and Gonzaga forward Kelly Olynyk added13.
In a game that included 11 lead changes and 12 ties, the teams were level15-15 after the first quarter and 28-28 at the half. Canada then took a 48-46lead into the fourth quarter but were undone by poor shooting at the end.
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