Jean-Aimé Toupane, coach of the France team: “It’s a new group that is being built. Yesterday’s stage (defeat in the semi-finals against Belgium 67-63, editor’s note), should not be experienced as a disappointment. We missed very little yesterday. When you fail, you learn faster than when you win. We wanted to finish with a medal. We were really very disappointed after yesterday’s game. The girls were able to find the moral and mental resources to put on a very good match. This is a group that has understood some basics to go to the highest level.
Iliana Rupert, interior of the France team: “We have to manage to play more relaxed, because that’s where we are most effective, and where we have fun. Once the machine is launched, it is hard to stop us. We have to manage to have it for as long and as often as possible. This is what we will have to work on. I was present today and I was able to help my team get the medal. Collectively, it’s the start of something. It’s never easy to lose like we lost yesterday, but it will teach us a lot for the future. I hope this is the start of something beautiful, this is a new era.”
Alexia Chartereau, interior of the France team: “It was hard to switch and refocus. It’s always a bit of a weird match for both teams, we did everything to get the medal and it’s nice to finish with a medal. The announced objective was high and few people believed in us. We focused on us. We see that we don’t give up. The objective was elsewhere but a European championship is never easy. We finish well, that’s the most important thing.”