FIBA World Cup 2014: France Defeats Spain in Upset

It was expected that the FIBA World Cup was just a foregone conclusion for Team USA and Team Spain to play each other in the final. However, despite coming into this game with six straight victories in the tournament and with an average margin of victory of 26.5 points, Spain was defeated by France in a 65-52 game.

The Spanish looked uncharacteristically sloppy on shooing which was critical to France pulling off what is definitely one of the most amazing upsets in recent international basketball history.

French players Boris Diaw and Thomas Heurtel scored 15 and 13 points respectively, but the defense was the real story of this game as France forced Spain to look out of sorts in what was expected to be their game.  The home country shot at just 32.3 percent efficiency from the floor and had a dreadful 2-22 shooting rate from beyond the three-point arc.

France head coach Vincent Collet told FIBA, "If we don't elevate our defensive level, there's no game. They're too talented. When you play against a team better than you, your first goal is to slow them down. If you want to be better than them you'll never win. 

Spain's best shooting effort came from their big names. Pau Gasol scored 17 points and had eight rebounds, but he received no help from his contemporaries. Ricky Rubio, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka combined for a 3-of-21 shooting rate from the field. 

From the opening tip off, it was clear that France had made the proper defensive adjustments that it would need to dominate this game.  France started out with and 11-2 run that quieted the madrid crowd in a hurry. Diaw sank several three-pointers and the defense seemed more united for a single goal than it had the entire tournament. 

Both teams would rapidly trade leads before France took the second quarter with a lead of 35-28 going into the break.

Coming out of half time, there was some hope for Spain. Their defense seemed to shift into a new gear and hold France to only seven points against 15 of their own. This is a scenario that fans of Team USA are familiar with: a slow start that eventually leads to late game dominance.

If only France had not refused to be put away.

The French would strike the first blow in the fourth quarter and would not lose the lead again after the eight minute mark.

France will be coming off of one of the biggest victories in their history when they take on Serbia Friday Sept. 12th. The Serbians recently defeated Brazil 84-56 after Brazil had beaten them in group play- just as Spain had done to the French.