CRETE - Tulane men’s basketball rising sophomore guard Ray Ona Embo and USF incoming freshman Alexis Yetna helped lead France to the bronze medal at the FIBA U20 European Championships after a 72-58 victory over Spain in the bronze medal game Sunday at Heraklion Arena in Greece.
After winning Group B with a perfect 3-0 record, France cruised past Czech Republic, 88-61, in the round of 16, before using an impressive second-half surge to defeat Serbia, 86-67, in the quarterfinals. The five-game winning streak was halted in the semifinals, as Group A winner and undefeated Israel proved to be too much for the French in a 74-52 final.
Ona Embo made at least one basket in each of the first six games of the tournament, which included six points and three rebounds in just nine minutes of action against Israel in the semifinals. He had two steals against Iceland in the first game of group play and dished out four assists against Montenegro in game two.
Like Ona Embo, Yetna appeared in all seven games for France. Despite averaging 9.6 minutes per game, Yetna grabbed 3.6 rebounds per game while hitting 45-percent of his attempts from the field.
Gold medalists in FIBA’s U18 European Championships in 2016 and claiming the U16 crown in 2014, France never trailed in Sunday’s triumph over Spain to conclude the tournament with a 6-1 record