France and US Triumph in Men's Basketball Semifinals

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France and the US secure victories in intense semifinals at Bercy Arena. France overcomes Germany in a thrilling match, while the US stages a remarkable comeback against Serbia. The crowd's emotions range from tension to elation, setting the stage for an epic final showdown.  #Basketball #France #Germany #USA #Victory

Transcript

00:00France surged through to the men's basketball finals Thursday night after a hard-fought

00:05victory over Germany that had Paris's Bercy Arena incandescent with joy.

00:11Les Bleus will be fighting the U.S. team for gold on Saturday after the Americans clawed

00:16back a desperate victory of their own from the dominating Serbian team.

00:21As the two preeminent powers of continental Europe, France and Germany have fought three

00:26all-out wars in the past century and a half, give or take a few years.

00:32As the German men's basketball team surged ahead in the first quarter of the semifinals

00:36against France on Thursday night in Paris's Bercy Arena, a fresh outbreak of hostilities

00:41didn't seem altogether out of the question.

00:45The French fans had every reason to be on edge.

00:49Despite winning a shattering victory over Canada just two days before, France's Les

00:54Bleus were still raw from a 71-85 loss to the Germans last week in Lille.

01:01As the reigning world champions' lightning assault pulled them out in front, the French

01:05supporters seemed to be living through their worst nightmares all over again.

01:10With French fans outnumbering Germans in the stadium by a factor of, conservatively, 20-1,

01:16the atmosphere was intense.

01:20The German side was welcomed onto the court with a hearty chorus of boos, which were doubled

01:24every time one of their players took a free throw, sank a three-pointer or, on one occasion,

01:30got injured.

01:32But for all that, the main mood in the arena was one of open exultation.

01:37The roving dance cam had only to glance at spectators before they erupted into their

01:41most earnest and artless moves, magnified tenfold on the vast screens overhead.

01:48Throughout the games, the organizers have drawn on a uniquely French tradition to signal

01:52the start of each event.

01:55Echoing the strict pageantry of the French theatre, a celebrity will stride onto the

01:59court holding a scepter crowned in red velvet, striking it three times against the floor

02:04to open the match.

02:07Most times, it's an athlete, often an Olympic champion in their own right.

02:12Tonight, it was an astronaut, France's favorite spaceman and sports fan Thomas Pesquet.

02:19After trailing the Germans 12-2 early on as the crowd looked on, aghast, France began

02:24to regain its momentum in the second quarter.

02:27An almost perfunctory slam dunk by the towering Victor Wimbanema drew the score even at 33-33,

02:34going into halftime.

02:37After a tense break punctuated by a brief but memorable Can-Can performance, what else

02:41were you expecting?

02:43The game continued.

02:45Driven on by the screaming crowd, the French side began to pull out in front.

02:52Deep into the last quarter, with just 40 seconds to go, it looked like they had pulled it off.

02:58Then Franz Wagner, one half of a pair of brothers playing on the German side, nailed a three-pointer,

03:03almost evening the score.

03:06The game's last seconds were frantic.

03:10Germany's Dennis Schroeder launched one last desperate shot.

03:14He missed, the game was over.

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