France snap up bronze medal by defeating Lithuania
French forward Batum, scoring 27 points, is key player for "Les Bleus"
MADRID
France has narrowly beaten Lithuania 95-93 in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup third-place playoff in Madrid, giving "Les Bleus" the tournament's bronze medal.
Portland Trail Blazers' French forward Nicolas Batum was the top scorer of the game on Saturday, gaining 27 points.
San Antonio Spurs forward Boris Diaw made a 15-point-contribution while French point guard Thomas Heurtel and center Joffrey Lauvergne scored 13 points each.
Lauvergne grabbed nine rebounds and French combo guard Antoine Diot made eight points.
Meanwhile, in Lithuania, the top scorer was Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas who completed the clash with 25 points and nine rebounds.
Lithuanian combo guard Adas Juskevicius scored 14 points for his team and was followed by guard Renaldas Seibutis with 13 points and four assists.
Lithuania's Martynas Pocius and Jonas Maciulis scored 11 points each and Lithuanian forward Paulius Jankunas reached double digits in the points section (10 points).
However their individual efforts were not enough to defeat France.
The world's number one in basketball will be unveiled tomorrow.
Serbia will face USA in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final, which tips off Sunday at 21.00 CET (2000 GMT) in Madrid.
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