On Sunday, the Tokyo Olympics witnessed another big upset, this time in basketball: the US men’s basketball team lost 83-76 to France in their opening game. This unexpected result ended the North American team’s enviable streak of 25 consecutive Olympic victories.
This is no small feat, as the USA have won gold at the last three Games and this is the first time a country has beaten them since Athens 2004.
Probably the most important man in this victory was Evan Fournier, whose 28 points were a valuable contribution for the European squad.
Interestingly, things had started off in great fashion for the USA, who took the first quarter relatively comfortably (15-22).
France managed to balance the game, but still the reigning champions managed to take the second quarter (22-23). Jrue Holiday was the standout player with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
However, when no one expected it, France turned into a steamroller and completely subdued Gregg Popovich’s squad in the third quarter, which they took 25-11.
From that point on, the Americans had to fight against the tide, while the French cleverly managed their advantage during the last quarter, which they took 21-20.
A disastrous start for a star-studded team that had already shown bad signs after losing its warm-up matches against Nigeria and Australia.
