It was not their best effort, and it took extra basketball to dispatch them , but France held off Italy 78-77.
France certainly did not bring their A-game, shooting a frigid 21% from downtown and only 62% from the charity stripe; The Italians did not have their shooting either, hitting just 66% from the foul line and connecting on only 32% of their field goal attempts.
Rudy Gobert had 15 points and 11 boards and Vincent Poirier pitched in with 14 points and 11 rebounds of his own.
Simone Fonetecchio poured in 24 points for Italy; in a losing effort; Danilo Gallinari chipped in with 13 points, including the game-tying three that forced overtime.
If there is any solace either of the teams can take from this game is that is did not count.
