CLUNKER

France Shocks U.S. Men in Basketball World Cup Qualifiers, Breaks 13-Year Winning Streak

American team’s 13-year winning streak comes to an end in FIBA game in China.

France put an end to the U.S. men’s basketball team’s chance of taking home a gold at the FIBA World Cup, winning 89-79 in the quarterfinal round. The loss broke the U.S. team’s streak of 58 consecutive wins and for the first time since the 2006 world championships, the team failed to secure gold at a major international tournament, ESPN reports. The U.S. men were bidding to become the first nation to win three consecutive basketball World Cups. The U.S. team has secured a spot in the 2020 Olympics, but the best it can do in China is finish fifth. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. A lot of people counted us out, but we got the win,” said French player Rudy Gobert, an erstwhile Utah Jazz center who scored 21 points.