France rallied past Czech Republic on the road (65-79) and became the fifth European team that officially qualifies to the World Cup.

The visitors had control of the game from the opening tip (19-26), yet the hosts came back and cut the deficit to one at the end of the third quarter (51-52).

France stood tall, though, and outscored their opponents 14-27 in the fourth quarter to win the game and advance to the World Cup.

Amath M’Baye led the winners in scoring, with a team-high 18 points, as Paul Lacombe and Axel Bouteille added 15 and 13 points, respectively. On the other hand, Vojtech Hruban had a game-high 20 points for the losing squad.

France improved to 8-1, while the Czech Republic dropped to 7-2. Both teams have secured their place in the World Cup, though.

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