France survived Japan’s upset bid to move to 2-0 in the 2024 Summer Olympics men’s basketball tournament, but it did not come without its fair share of controversy.
The host nation appeared to be headed for a loss in the final minute until Matthew Strazel saved the day with a crucial four-point play that sent the contest into overtime.
16 seconds was how close Japan was to pulling off the upset of the men’s basketball tournament. Having stopped Victor Wembanyama from scoring much, it all went away with that play.
Not many fans were thrilled by that call and promptly accused France of receiving home cooking and refs of rigging the matchup in their favor to ensure they would win.
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Team France Receives Huge Break After Ejection of Japan’s Best Player
Another controversial call in this game that benefited France removed Rui Hachimura from the contest. He scored 24 points in 28 minutes, going 10-of-16 from the field, per ESPN.
However, France got a huge break when Hachimura was ejected from the game for a second unsportsmanlike foul.
Following that wild four-point play, Victor Wembanyama would wake up for team France and not let Japan hang around at the start of overtime, as they began on an 8-0 run.
Wemby was again the best player on the floor, scoring a team-high 18 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists.
Tuesday’s victory kept France on track to finish the group stage as Group B winner.
In another game, Team Canada won its second game at the Paris Games, defeating Australia by 10 points.
