France’s Nando De Colo hopes to win for Parker and company

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France’s Nando De Colo hopes to win for Parker and company

by rick olivares

The FIBA Olympic Qualifiers in Manila are France’s (among five other participating teams) last chance to make it to the 2016 Rio Summer Games. There is also an air of finality for some as some long-time mainstays of the French national team — Tony Parker and forwards Mickael Gelabale and Florent Pietrus have called it their last in a national team shirt. 

While France head coach Vincent Collet has annointed 6’5” siwngman Nando De Colo as “France’s future” having been named the Final Four Most Valuable Player of the recently concluded Euroleague Finals where his squad, CSKA Moscow emerged triumphant.

Despite France’s missing key players, all NBA mainstays, in Rudy Gobert, Ian Mahinmi, Evan Fournier, and Alexis Ajinca, Les Bleus still have enough firepower to bring to bear in Manila. De Colo, is one of them.

The Sainte-Catherine-les-Arras born lad isn’t at all comfortable with the tag placed on him. “I don’t think about the future,” he riposted. “I just have to be ready for the tournament.”

In the same vein, the swingman who used to be Tony Parker’s teammate with the San Antonio Spurs from 2012-14, said that as a teammate, he would love for Parker, Gelabale, and Pietrus to end their tour of duty with an Olympic berth. “It would be nice to win not only for France and ourselves but also for our teammates."

De Colo admitted that it was time for France to forget the disappointment of EuorBasket 2015 where Les Bleus lost in the semi-finals, 80-75, to eventual champion, Spain. "I think it was a big disappointment last summer. But now we need to be focused on this tournament and maybe forget about the past. Just be focused on our team. The tournament will not be easy so we have to be ready. We have to respect everyone.”

France is the fifth ranked country by FIBA in world basketball and De Colo likewise expressed apprehension at the tag. “It can be good and it can be bad,” he said. “It’s good that French basketball is getting better. It’s also bad because if we believe the hype that will be our downfall.”

“The Philippines will play fast and with a lot of energy. So we have to be focused and play defense. If we let them play their game, we know their fans will support them and their confidence will grow.”

Unlike Gelabale who outright said he thinks France will defeat the Philippines, De Colo expressed wariness. "We can never know what will happen on the court. We can have a bad game; some others can get hot. We need to know better who we are playing against. We know they (the Philippines) are fast and quick. They like to use the three-pointer as a weapon and they attack the basket. We just have to be prepared."