a repechage tournament. In August 2009 he was replaced by Vincent Collet, coach of ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne. Under Collet's direction, Les Bleus grabbed the last ticket to the EuroBasket 2009 by trashing Belgium 92–54 in the final game of the repechage. At the European Championship, France won their first six games of the first two rounds but failed in the quarter-finals against the eventual tournament champion Spain. The French ultimately finished in fifth place, a performance which would grant the team the direct qualification for the next two major competitions, the 2010 FIBA World Cup and EuroBasket 2011. Rise to the world elite (2011–present) After a disappointing showing from France during the 2010 FIBA World Cup, where they were knocked out in the Round of 16, the team looked toward EuroBasket 2011 with high expectations after an impressive run in 2009. France was placed into Group B, with Latvia as their first opponent. France got off to a slow start to begin the game as they trailed after the first quarter 18–25. Although the team would step it up in the second quarter, to only trail 40–41 at halftime. In the second half, France demonstrated why they were one of the favourites heading into the tournament. As they finished off the game strong and pulled out the win 89–78, behind Tony Parker's game high (31 points and 7 assists). In their second match against Israel, France never faced any pressure, as they led throughout to an 68–85 victory. Standing with a record of (2–0), next up for France was a date with Dirk Nowitzki and Germany. Similar to their first match, France got off to another slow start where the team trailed after the first period. But they rallied back in the second quarter to take a 29–28 halftime lead. France exploded in the third quarter, which gave the national team an 18 point cushion heading into the fourth quarter. This deficit would prove too much to overcome for Germany, as France led by Tony Parker's 32 points on 55% shooting, and six assists moved to (3–0). Still undefeated, France had another tough test awaiting, with Italy in their way. For three quarters France struggled against the stymie defense of the Italians, where they were down 67–60 heading into the fourth quarter. With Tony Parker having an off shooting night, other team leaders such as Boris Diaw (21 points), and Nicolas