EuroBasket: "The captain has come out of his box," Yabusele puts on the boss's suit

" Two or three players will have to stand out ," said Freddy Fauthoux before facing Poland on Tuesday in Katowice. A match that followed a dismal performance against Israel (69-83) last Sunday... and the announcement that Alex Sarr (calf) would be out of the rest of EuroBasket . Already, there was time for doubt, after the successful test against Luka Doncic's Slovenia (103-95) . The new coach was no doubt secretly hoping that Guerschon Yabusele would be one of those players. In fact, a little more than secretly.

Cast as captain of this rejuvenated and almost completely remodeled French team after the Olympics, with only three Olympic vice-champions, the Dancing Bear had been very discreet since the start of the competition. In terms of leadership, no problem. But the Blues also need his basketball qualities, those which led him to sign a nice contract with the New York Knicks this summer. " I spoke to the guys. I told them it was my fault first. My attitudes weren't necessarily the right ones on the court, I showed a lot of frustration ," he said before this match on the fourth day of the group stage . The former Real Madrid player matched his words with actions. 36 points, including six three-pointers . Decisive in the victory against the Poles (83-76) , undefeated until then. On fire.

Also read EuroBasket: Yabusele (finally) assumes his status, Okobo as lieutenant, Malédon downgraded, Risacher in failure… The tops and flops after France-Poland

The team followed its captain, Guerschon played a very good match.

Freddy Fauthoux

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His previous record in blue? 22 points. " The captain came out of his box, he played a great game and was efficient," praised Élie Okobo , the other big man in this game (14 pts, 10 assists). " The team followed its captain, Guerschon played a very good game. Well done to him. To win this kind of game, we need the leaders to be very good ," emphasizes Fauthoux .

Clearly, Yabusele wanted to mark his territory and make his mark in this match, to show the way through play and not just words. We felt it immediately. And he was already at 12 points at the end of the first quarter. " Compared to my team, I had to be aggressive. Today, I played a good match. It had been several matches, I had to be more and more aggressive. I had said it before the match. I really wanted to be aggressive. We won, that's the most important thing," emphasized the player, who was playing his 61st match for the French team. He's the most experienced. Three international medals, all silver (Euro 2022, Olympic Games 2021 and 2024). One of the oldest too (29 years old). The leader. The guide. At least, that's what was expected of him. And something he had struggled to do until now at the Euro.

Faced with the urgency of the situation, Guerschon Yabusele let loose. It's never too late to do the right thing. " We spoke with the coach and with the players too, so that I could be a little more involved. I know it's important for me to be aggressive all the time for the team and for myself. I tried to find my rhythm, to give the guys energy so that we could move forward together. Tonight, it went my way, but this victory is the result of everyone's work, those who didn't score, those who scored a lot... Everyone contributed tonight, including in defense," he notes.

The defense tightened the screws, especially in the second half. The 23 offensive rebounds did the world of good. " We had a great Elie. He made some very important shots, he set the pace, he defended and tried to speak, to be sure to organize everything on the court, incredible passes... He was in a different role and he was incredible. His performance was very important for us. There's Elie, but also a lot of other guys who were very important for us ." Like for example Jaylen Hoard (10 pts), still precious and " super important ," said Yabusele, praising the " incredible work " of his teammate. " A victory like that connects us all. It's really important ," summarizes Guersch' Yabusele, who toured Iceland on Thursday (2 p.m.).

Already qualified for the round of 16, in Riga (Latvia), the Blues will play for first place in the group against the weak Icelandic team. As has been said, it will be without Alex Sarr . Another setback for the Tricolores, who have already lost Vincent Poirier during the preparation, not to mention the defection of Moussa Diabaté . All this while Victor Wembayama, Rudy Gobert, Mathias Lessort and Mous Fall were unavailable for various reasons. That's a lot... Especially since the young (20 years old) Wizards player had shown good things against Slovenia (12 pts) .

We'll be ready for anything. We're not looking for excuses.

Guershon Yabusele

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Sarr's absence, a headache? " Obviously. I'm not going to lie ," says the former Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers player. "He has the size, the wingspan, it helps on defense, and he can spread out. With all his qualities, we lose a little, but we have three interior players (Jaiteh, Yabusele, Hoard). We'll find a way. Timothé (Luwawu-Cabarrot) has played minutes as a power forward. Other players can do it. We'll see what the best situation will be based on the opponent and the matchups. But we'll be ready for anything. We're not looking for excuses. We'll play with the players we have ." No choice.

One thing is certain: Les Bleus put all the ingredients together on Tuesday. That's reassuring, after Israel... " It was important for us to show a different attitude (compared to Sunday). We played with a lot of energy, we were focused the whole match and my teammates found me well. I was the guy who scored today, but the most important thing was the victory. We're going to go back to the hotel, rest and prepare for the match against Iceland ," Yabusele insisted, noting that it was " a team victory, that's what we needed ." It remains to be confirmed. Not necessarily on Thursday, against a weak Icelanders, but in the last 16 and further in the tournament if we have affinities.