France’s Guerschon Yabusele shone as they defeated Germany 73-69 in an exciting semifinal on Thursday to secure their spot in back-to-back Olympic gold medal games for men’s basketball at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Yabusele, who plays basketball for Real Madrid in his native Spain, led the hosts—who won silver in Tokyo three years prior—to another championship game with a game-high 17 points.
NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs scored 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds, while Isaia Cordinier contributed 16 points to France’s total.
Against the Olympic hosts, Fritz Wagner was the only other player to score in double figures, with Dennis Schroder leading Germany with eighteen points.
With their defeat, Germany’s remarkable recent run—which began at the World Cup of last year—came to an end. They had won 12 straight games in significant international tournaments.
LeBron James and company will now play France against Serbia or the United States in the championship game on Saturday, with the goal of winning Team USA’s 17th gold in men’s basketball.
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