France Punches Ticket to 2016 Rio Olympics

Manila, Philippines – France defeated Canada 83-74 in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament Finals to book the last seat at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Serbia and Croatia punched their tickets previously. The win was the culmination of a four-game sweep by the boys in blue to complete their road to Rio. The Canadian squad flies home and looks to 2020 for its next crack at an Olympic berth.

Canada led the game in the early goings and set up a 39-36 advantage at the end of the first half. France rallied in the third quarter and pushed for a dominant position in the game. They forced 21 Canadian turnovers and were clearly in command of the game’s pace in the second half.

Tony Parker led France with his game-high 26 points as he simply could not be contained by Canada’s backcourt. He added four rebounds and four assists. Canada was missing Andrew Wiggins who opted to skip the tournament. Cory Joseph led Canada with 20 points and six assists.