Guerschon Yabusele’s 36 points lead France past Poland

Sep 2, 2025 10:31 PM

Guerschon Yabusele delivered a career-night performance, scoring 36 points – his personal best with the French national team – leading France to an 83-76 victory over Poland in front of more than 9,000 fans at Spodek Arena on Tuesday. The win handed Poland their first defeat of the tournament.

Both France and Poland, along with Israel and Slovenia, had already secured spots in the Round of 16, but Yabusele’s performance kept the race for the top spot in Group D wide open, setting up a decisive Thursday showdown.

Turning Point

Yabusele’s putback dunk with 7:47 remaining in the third quarter ignited a 27-8 French run, allowing Les Bleus to extend their lead to 68-55 with just over eight minutes left in the fourth.

Poland tried to rally, with Michal Sokolowski converting a three-point play to cut the deficit to 80-76 in the closing minutes, but Elie Okobo’s stepback three with nine seconds remaining sealed the win for France.

TCL Player of the Game

“Do you need a last-gasp defensive play? Guerschon is there for you. What about a clutch three-pointer? Guerschon will be there,” the French captain proved once again.

Yabusele recorded his national team career-high of 36 points, shooting 6-of-12 from beyond the arc, while also contributing 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks.

This effort ties him with Herve Dubuisson and Tony Parker for the third-highest scoring performance by a French player in a EuroBasket game. His previous career-high came in the 2022 EuroBasket semifinals, coincidentally also against Poland.

Stats Don’t Lie

Despite missing injured center Alexandre Sarr for the remainder of the tournament, France dominated the offensive boards, out-rebounding Poland 22-10.

Second-chance points were crucial, with France outscoring Poland 19-5, and they also held advantages in points off turnovers (21-13) and points in the paint (40-30).

Bottom Line

France rebounded immediately after their loss to Israel, executing what others in Group D could not: defeating hosts Poland in a hostile arena environment.

With both teams now at 3-1 in the standings, along with Israel, the final order in the group will be decided on September 4.

They Said

“We were back on our standards, and we showed it on the court. We can’t underestimate this win, because they were playing very good basketball at home and with a lot of confidence. For us, it was important to approach the game the right way, and we stuck together. We had more chemistry and more communication: that’s the right way,” said France’s Isaia Cordinier.

“We reacted pretty well. It was an intense game. They gave us a hard time tonight, but we were able to compete at a high level. We made fewer mistakes than the other day [against Israel]. We ended up getting a win, and that’s what matters the most,” added Elie Okobo.

Poland captain Mateusz Ponitka reflected: “I believe we played a very solid game. France are a great team and they are one of the contenders to end up in the Top-4 of the EuroBasket. We fought well, we were really close all the time, and at least we didn’t lose by more than 8 points. We are very happy about it.”