By America Hernandez and Angelica Medina
LILLE, France (Reuters) – The Olympic party arrived in Lille on Saturday as fans from all over France filled the Stade Pierre Mauroy, cheering and singing to the rhythm of tambourines as the national men’s side beat Brazil on the first day of the basketball competition.
France defeated Brazil 78-66 thanks to a brilliant performance from NBA side San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama. Nicknamed “The Alien” because of his 7-foot-3-inches (2.22 m) frame, he scored 17 points to lead his team to victory.
“I knew it was going to be something crazy (the atmosphere) but I didn’t imagine this. I’ve never experienced anything like that. So many people, with so much intensity, right from the warmup, it’s just incredible,” Wembanyama said.
Dressed in Gallic rooster hats and tricolour wigs, the official basketball fans’ organisation, KOP Francais Basket, brought the stands to life with their tam-tam drumming and passionate cheering.
“Tonight France cannot lose, tonight France must not lose,” said Jeremie Cozzie, one of the leaders, wearing a tricolore wig and matching sunglasses. “Of course we are loyal, we will be there for the team in good times and bad, but we come to every game and say they must win.”
To the right of the stands, a lone Brazilian supporter in his team’s yellow and green shirt, law professor Alexandre Naoki Nishioka, had travelled from Sao Paolo with his wife and daughter for the match.
“The atmosphere is amazing, there are so many people chanting ‘Allez les bleus, allez les bleus’, although for us it’s more like ‘Allez Brazil’,” he said laughing despite some booing for his country.
The fans also used their mobile phones to create a starry sky effect over the court and even sang the French national anthem at the end of the game.
“It’s like a football stadium,” said Brazilian Cristiano Felicio, who acknowledged that the local support contributed to their defeat. “I think it was pretty cool to play in front of this crowd. A lot of booing but that’s part of the game,” he added.
(Reporting by America Hernandez and Angelica Medina in Lille; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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