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12 September 2004 Czech Republic coach Michal Jezdik is going back to the drawing board after a dismal defensive effort ruined his team's chances against France. The Czechs, who defeated Poland 82-57 in their opening game, crashed to an 89-56 defeat against Les Bleus.
"We wanted to play good defence and to allow as few points as possible but we have not done it," Jezdik said. "We played well in the first five minutes but we made too many bad mistakes after that and France punished us. "They scored easy baskets and controlled the game until the end. Our opponents were simply better and fully deserved their victory, despite the fact that we played better in the second half." France shot the ball well from long range, making 13 of 30 from behind the arc. Sanya Giffa was excellent, converting four of his five attempts. "They had some good shooting from longer distances," Jezdik said. "They played well on defence, rebounded much better than in the game against Slovenia and they were quicker than us. "It seemed as if we had allowed more points by half-time than we had by the end of the game with Poland, so we couldn't win. "We have to concentrate for the next home game against Slovenia in Prostejov, although our opponents will be very strong." Slovenia beat France, and then Poland in their opening two games. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||