Two days after being blown out by Canada, France were ousted in the first round after losing 88-86 to the tournament debutants in Jakarta.

When the tournament began in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Japan, the French were widely considered to be among the favorites.

Batum described the blоw as “a good kιck in the butt” just a year before the Paris Olympics.

“I wasn’t really ashamed with that jersey, but that’s the first time I’m really ashamed,” Batum of the Los Angeles Clippers, one of numerous NBA players on the French squad, said.

I’m afraid to go home; we’ve disappointed too many people. Many individuals around the country had faith in our ability to make a difference.

They were committed to it, whereas we were not.

France’s confidence was low coming into the game after being blown out by Canada, 95-65, in France’s tournament opener.

They were never down until the final 30 seconds of the game, when Latvia snuck ahead by a single point.

With 10 seconds left, Latvia’s Arturs Zagars made a free throw to put the team up by two points, while France’s Sylvain Francisco missed a three-pointer as time expired.

In the final period, Latvia outscored France 26-12, and key French player Nando de Colo was disqualified for two unsportsmanlike fouls in the waning minutes of the game.

The loss was described as “a nightmare” by France’s head coach Vincent Collet.

We were hoping for a response after Friday’s initial loss, he remarked.

We got it, I suppose, and it was a true one because we played much better in the third quarter, but it wasn’t enough since we were still hurting from Friday.

As one player put it, “Our spirit was not at the Latvian level and I think that made the difference in the last couple of minutes.”

Change in momentum

Despite France’s nine-point lead after De Colo’s ejection, Latvia started to make up distance.

Batum called it “the turnaround of the game” when it happened.

After losing our general (because that’s who he is), the tide turned against us,” he explained.

We made an effort to press on, but that undoubtedly derailed our progress.

The home fans in Jakarta shouted for Latvia as they battled back from numerous deficits to win.

Davis Bertans, a power forward, claimed that the squad “kept pushing” until they won.

The opposing squad “on paper were stronger and better in almost all the positions,” he claimed, so many teams “would have put their heads down.”

In order to keep the game close, we realized we needed a break at some point.

At the last possible moment, 37 seconds before the buzzer, it arrived.

Latvia defeated Lebanon by a score of 109-70 in their opening Group H game.

Bertans claimed they “didn’t come here to participate” but are now assured of moving on to the next round.

Nothing has changed, he said; the task is still unfinished.

The more victories we can amass right now, the more likely we are to go on and accomplish something even more remarkable.