Jonas Valanciunas (R, front) of Lithuania dunks during the group L match between France and Lithuania at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Sept. 7, 2019. (Xinhua/Han Yuqing)
NANJING, China, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- With two big shots in the dying seconds of the game, France managed to edge Lithuania 78-75 to successfully book a ticket to the quarterfinals of the FIBA Basketball World Cup here on Saturday.
Evan Fournier became the go-to-guy for France, shooting 10 of 22 and posting a game-high 24 points. Nando De Colo also contributed 21 points.
The duo saved France in the final moments as Fournier pulled a floating jump shot with 53 seconds remaining to put his team in the lead by two points. De Colo shot another big 2-pointer after Lithuania missed one free throw.
France sent their early message at the defensive end led by Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, and Fournier was on fire offensively with jump shots and tough layups, helping the French side establish a double digit lead in the first quarter.
Lithuania seemed to not be shell-shocked after their guard Lukas Lekavicius scored a few in-time points. Jonas Valanciunas then stood out and kept attacking the rim. But when Gobert came back to the court, Lithuania was subdued and trailed by ten points going into the second half.
Both teams were trapped in foul trouble, making the rhythm of the third quarter rather plodding, and Lithuania rallied with free throws trying not to turn the game into a rout.
"We made a good start with good defense. But we gave too many fouls to keep them in the game," said Nicolas Batum of France.
The most dramatic period came as Lithuania fired strong in the final minutes, buoyed by a 9-2 scoring burst. They dismantled France's defense with fast breaks and easy baskets to take their first lead with one point at 4:27.
Team Lithuania seemed quite upset with the final calls made by the referees.
"Such referees are a joke. They did not respect the game. This is a joke," said Lithuania's head coach Datinius Adomaitis, who added an expletive and slapped the desk in a fit of rage at the press conference after the game.
With the victory, France secured a quarterfinal berth with one more second round game in hand. The French will take on Australia on Monday to decide the group winner.
