Led by Mickael Gelabale’s 16 points and great free throw shooting late in the game, France upset Spain, 72-66 in the teams’ opening game at the Basketball World Championship.

France converted 10 of its last 12 free throws to seal the win.

(Discuss the France-Spain game in our World Championships of Basketball forum)

“They are the best in the world. It was great to play Spain first as we had to jump straight into the tournament. It has given us great confidence,” said French player Nicolas Batum.

Early on, Spain doubled-up France in the first quarter 19-8, and built a 12-point lead in the second quarter before Les Bleus used a 9-0 run to tie the game at 25 – which included a spectacular high-flying dunk by the Portland Trailblazer’s Batum.

Spain was without Pau Gasol and France was without Tony Parker, both stars bowed out of the tournament early on. France was led by Gelabale, who hit two threes on his way to 16 points, Batum added 14 points and Andrew Albicy scored 13 of his own. Boris Diaw passed out 5 assists and grabbed 5 rebounds. Gelabale also added six rebounds for the winners.

Juan Carlos Navarro led Spain with 17 points. Rudy Fernandez had 13 points but fouled out of the game after assessing a technical foul. Discuss/comment on the France vs. Spain match in our forum.