PARIS, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The French national basketball team hopes to achieve greater success at the Tokyo Olympics next year after they overcame Team USA and finished third at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.
The team showcased their power last summer at the Basketball World Cup, including defeating the two-time defending champions USA 89-79 in the quarter-finals.
"We were on a mission. And we were all able to make ourselves better, through motivation to push ourselves to a higher level," France center Rudy Gobert told the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) in a program.
France is eager to win an Olympic medal in Tokyo as the coronavirus pandemic has led to the 2020 Summer Games being pushed back a year to 2021.
"We just beat a super team of the U.S. We're going to have to be extra motivated and focused on beating them in Tokyo. To get a medal in the Olympics is the main goal, and we never know what can happen," forward Nicolas Batum said.
"All of those moments we had - the good ones, the bad ones - as a group last summer are really going to help us in the future. I think it was a great experience for our group," Gobert added. Enditem
