France knocks off Canada to reach semifinals
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PARIS (AP) — Guerschon Yabusele scored 22 points, Victor Wembanyama had 12 rebounds and France beat Canada 82-73 on Tuesday to advance to its second straight men’s Olympic basketball semifinal.
Isaia Cordinier added 20 points for France, which is looking to add to its medal haul after winning silver in the Tokyo Games in 2021. It will meet Germany, a winner over Greece, on Thursday.
Wembanyama finished with seven points, five assists, three steals and a block.
Canada cut what had been 19-point second-half lead for France to 71-66 with less than three minutes left in the game. But the rally stalled there.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Canada with 27 points, and RJ Barrett added 16. Canada has not reached the Olympic final four since 1984.
With Canada limiting touches for Wembanyama, Yabusele and Cordinier carried the offensive load for France, whose lead stretched to 19 points in the third.
France took an 11-point lead into the fourth, when Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert and Nicolas Batum combined for just three points.
Canada cut the deficit to 71-66 on a steal and dunk by Lu Dort.
It was 73-66 with a little more than a minute to play when Evan Fournier connected on a desperation heave from just inside the half-court line with the shot clock winding down.
While Wembanyama wasn’t heavily involved offensively, he did provide the hometown fans with flashes of his uncanny athleticism.
With less than a minute to play in the first quarter, Wembanyama stripped Barrett near the sideline, spun back toward France’s basket and dribbled behind his back before dishing the ball to Mathias Lessort for a layup.
