Batum (20 points) gave the team the lift it needed down the stretch to prevail 84–91. The win also helped France clinch a spot in the second group phase. France having already locked up a spot to advance went up against the undefeated Serbia in their final match of Group B. In a highly competitive match between these two unbeaten teams, where overtime was needed to determine the winner; France with balanced scoring from six players in double figures handed Serbia their first lost 96–97. In the second group phase France won their first two matches against Turkey, and Lithuania, before falling to Spain. The result was enough to book a place into the quarter-finals. There, France battled Greece with a chance to reach the semis on the line. The team eventually escaped with a 64–56 victory. France needing one more win to put themselves in position to play for the title, first had to get past Andrei Kirilenko and Russia. The two teams played a really close game throughout, but France did just enough to place themselves in prime position to move on. France reached the final of the EuroBasket for the first time since 1949, where they were up against Spain. Unfortunately, the team came up short, as Spain repeated as European champions. However, led by the extraordinary performances from the iconic Tony Parker, France proved they would be a threat on the international scene in the future. The 2012 Summer Olympics came and went without much noise made from the French, as the team bowed out in the quarter-finals. Heading toward the EuroBasket 2013, France was eager to flip the script and display the execution needed to make a deep tournament run. However, in their first match at the Euro finals in Group A, France was defeated by Germany 74–80. The loss quickly refocused the team for their next two matches, against Great Britain, and Israel, as they blew out both opponents fairly easily. France went on to also win their next two games in the preliminary phase against Ukraine and Belgium, to finish top of Group A to advance. During the second group phase France suffered their second loss of the tournament, falling to Lithuania. Although the team turned around in their next match to beat Latvia 102–91, behind big games from center Alexis Ajinça (25 points and 3 blocks) and Tony Parker's (23 points). With