Rudy Gobert Leads France To Olympic Semifinals In Win Over Italy

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert helped the French National Team beat Italy and advance to the semifinal round of the Tokyo Olympics.

France played Italy in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, August 3.

Gobert recorded a big performance and led France to an 84-75 victory.

France hold on to secure their place in the Olympic Men's Semi-Finals! 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷

Box Score 📊 https://t.co/XyyZKrPkBT#Tokyo2020 | #Basketball pic.twitter.com/AnQxrxb1Ln

— FIBA | #Basketball #Tokyo2020 (@FIBA) August 3, 2021

France and Italy went back-and-forth on the scoreboard through the first half.

In the third quarter, the French National Team outscored Italy by nine points and went into the final 10 minutes with an edge.

The Italians were unable to rally from a double-digit deficit and take a lead in the final minutes of action.

Gobert capped France’s victory with a 360 degree slam dunk during the closing seconds of the contest.

360 DUNK RUDY GOBERT POUR CONCLURE 🌪️🌀@rudygobert27 😳

75 – 84 I 40' I #ITAFRA

🇮🇹 🆚 🇫🇷 #TeamFranceBasket #Tokyo2020 #Basketball

— Equipes de France de Basket (@FRABasketball) August 3, 2021

The Jazzman score a team-high 22 points on 10-13 field goals. He added nine rebounds and a steal.

Gobert posted a plus-11 rating during his 28 minutes on the court.

Cette action de @rudygobert27 🥵 #TeamFranceBasket #ITAFRA #Tokyo2020 #Basketball pic.twitter.com/i3CcarcHYV

— Equipes de France de Basket (@FRABasketball) August 3, 2021

With the victory, France advanced to the semifinals of the Tokyo 2020. France joined Slovenia and the United States as the first teams to advance from the quarterfinal round. Australia and Argentina will play in the final quarterfinal contest.

France will play Slovenia in the semifinals on Thursday, August 5. The winner will advance to the Men’s Gold Medal game.