Gabby Williams, winger of the French team, victorious over Finland 129-50 for her first preparation match for the Paris Olympic Games : “We had good energy for forty minutes, we played well the whole match. The goal was not simply to win, but to work on our game. It was the first time since the start of preparation that we were able to play like that, against another opposition, by setting ourselves small challenges that we we respected. I didn’t know that the Bleues’ offensive record was 131 points. I didn’t even look at the score after the first three minutes of play. You have to take what you have. We also made mistakes, we have to defend better. I like the fact that we didn’t release the pressure, especially in the hot moments. It makes me happy to see this grinta. »
Valériane Ayayi, winger of the French team : “After three intensive and studious weeks, it was important to be able to use this match as a first test. We were focused on ourselves. I hope that Jean-Aimé (Toupane, the coach) was able to have answers if he had any questions, that he was reassured that the team had adhered to the concept. This match served as training for us, to test associations. It’s a different opposition. Monday’s match (still facing Finland) Will it be different? Yes or no, we’ll see.”
“The confirmation of three weeks of working tirelessly, to become the most aggressive team in the Olympic tournament”
Dominique Malonga, interior of the French team
Dominique Malonga, interior of the French team : “It’s a victory that pleases us, the confirmation of three weeks of working tirelessly, to become the most aggressive team in the Olympic tournament. This match shows that we worked well. There was a lot of domination in the paint, from all the interiors. We alternated, we knew how to find each other, find interior baskets. We lacked a little size in front. We can still improve on our activity. We should be able to maintain that throughout the match. We knew how to keep the DNA of aggressiveness that we found in China (in February) ».
Jean-Aimé Toupane, coach of the French team : “Even if the opponent was weakened, what interested me was to see what we have tried to put in place for three weeks. We saw the athletic and physical value of our girls, it’s something we have been working on for quite some time. (On the interest of playing Finland again) Playing easy teams and maintaining the level of play is a skill. We want to achieve this regardless of the opponent. It is an important factor in playing the best teams. The teams that will go all the way will be those that have reserves. If we are able to repeat the same intensity, we will be on the right track. They will perhaps recover one or two players. (On the composition of the team that will play on Monday) We’re going to talk about it with my staff, we know that we have very few matches. The challenge is to have cohesion fairly quickly. We want to make the best possible team in its best possible version.”
