Photo: PL

Havana, Jul 22 (PL) The French men's basketball team suffered its fourth consecutive defeat in preparatory games for the Olympic Games, falling to Australia 82-83 just six days before its debut in Paris-2024.

In the city of Orleans, Les Bleus were unable to defend their lead just 2.5 seconds before the final whistle in a game in which French NBA star Victor Wembanyama, the best rookie in the most recent U.S. basketball season, shone.

Wemby scored 17 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out eight assists for the Tokyo-2021 Olympic runners-up, but the bronze medalists in that summer event counted on the contribution of fellow NBA players Patty Mills (24 points) and Josh Giddey (20) to win the game.

Before that, France lost in friendlies against Germany, Serbia and Canada, all of them contenders for a medal in Paris-2024.

The excess of errors is a concern for the host team of the Olympic Games, which will debut on July 27 against Brazil in Group B, which also includes Germany and Japan.

Australia will also play on that day against Spain in Group A, known as the key of death, with Greece and Canada as the other competitors.