Game Summary

Turning point: Tony Parker nailed a three-pointer with 2:38 left to put France ahead 62-61 after Germany saw two triples go in and out just before that.

Hero: Parker finished the game with France's final 11 points.

Stats: Five was the biggest lead of the game and there 11 lead changes and seven ties.

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Tony Parker scored his team's final 11 points to help France fend off up-start Germany with a 70-65 victory in their opening match of Group B at EuroBasket 2009.

Parker had a game-high 19 points as well as six rebounds and four assists while Ronny Turiaf collected 15 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks for Vincent Collet's team, which reached Poland through the Additional Qualifying Round.

Nicolas Batum added 12 points and nine rebounds in helping France out-rebound Germany 46-32 though Les Bleus made just 18 of 33 foul shots (55 percent).

"It's always very important to start a European competition like this very, very well. We came out of the gates a little jitterish. But we did a good job weathering the storm because they played really good in the first half," said Turiaf, who could not stop Germany from leading at intermission 37-33.

"Afterwards we did a good job sticking with them. So that shows us that regardless of what people want to say about us - we can't make our free throws we can't do this or that - we can play defense. That's the one thing we base ourselves on."

Germany, who have five players 21 years old or younger, committed just 10 turnovers and were led by 13 points from Sven Schultze. Demond Greene hit for 12 points and Patrick Femerling chipped in 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

"Overall you have to be satisfied with how we played. A lot of people thought that we would be a push over here. But we're not and we proved that today. We have to proud of ourselves because we played hard and stuck to the game plan except the final minutes," said German coach Dirk Bauermann, whose team made just one basket in the final four minutes.

"At the end of the day, they played better than us in the last five minutes. If you let that happen, you'll lose a game like that."

Steffen Hamann added nine points, four rebounds and five assists in a losing effort.

Germany used the long ball to stay in the game in the first quarter with Jan Jagla, Greene and Schultze all hitting from long range in helping Germany to a 17-14 lead after one quarter.

Bauermann's team struggled to keep under wraps French big man Turiaf, who had six points, four rebounds and two blocks in the first quarter.

The young Germans pushed the gap to 24-19 early in the second period and it was 27-22 after another Greene triple. But France began taking control of the rebounding and used the foul shot to chip to within 33-32.

Hamann answered with a driving layup as Germany went into intermission ahead 37-33.

Germany's all-time appearance holder Femerling scored back-to-back baskets for a 41-37 advantage. The Germans however lost their rhythm offensively and scored just two baskets in six minutes and watched the NBA duo of Boris Diaw and Turiaf push France ahead 46-45 with a 9-4 run.

Heiko Schaffartzik nailed a three-pointer to put Germany back ahead but France held them scoreless the final two minutes for a 50-48 lead after three periods.

Schultze knocked down two triples and eight of Germany's first 10 points of the fourth quarter in keeping Deutschland ahead 58-55. France watched as Greene nailed another long ball for a 61-59 lead.

But Schaffartzik and Greene both had triples go in and out, missing a chance of increasing Germany's lead to four points. And then Parker knocked down a trey of his own before converting a tough layup to start an 11-4 run by himself against Germany.

DIRK BAUERMANN (Germany Coach):

"It's always difficult to play against Tony Parker. He destroyed us in the last quater. We have a lot of young players without a big experience. Our big problem today was a defence but I am proud of my boys."

Konrad Wysocki (Germany):

"We should focus on the game, on the finish. There are no excuses to be made. We played good basketball during almost the whole game, but almost wasn't enough to win."

Tony Parker (France):

"The first game is always special. It was a tough game, The German team played pretty well, they have good defence. I tried to be aggresive at the end and take the risk in some situations. Next games we have to play much better."

Vincent Collet (France head coach):

"The first half was better for Germany, but we showed character. The second half was much more agressive and we played more effectively on offense. We have to draw a conclusion from this game and tomorrow play much better."

Gdansk will see the dawn of a new era for Germany - 2002 Worlds bronze medalists and 2005 EuroBasket runners up - with five players off the 2008 Olympic team not showing up on the Baltic Sea.

The biggest missing face is Germany superstar Dirk Nowitzki. But German coach Dirk Bauermann will have a fresh, motivated group of youngsters ready to show they are ready for the big time.

France meanwhile enter EuroBasket 2009 as the winners of the Additional Qualifying Round. Vincent Collet's team suffered defeats to Finland and Belgium on their way to Poland and drive supporters crazy with their inconsistent performances.

French star playmaker Tony Parker will be in charge of keeping Les Bleus in line. But he and Collet have plenty of weapons to choose from with the likes of Ronny Turiaf, Boris Diaw, Florent Pietrus and Nicolas Batum.

If France can solve the German defense, this could turn into a blowout while Germany hope to keep the low and stay in the game late.

Head to Head: France lead the all-time series against Germany with 7 wins and 4 losses. The last showdown came at the 2007 EuroBasket in Spain where France eased past Germany 78-66 in the Qualifying Round Group F.

Key match-up: Steffen Hamann vs. Tony Parker. Can Germany's playmaking and defensive leader slow down the NBA superstar Parker? That is probably the biggest key for Germany if the Bauermann's men hope to have a chance against France.

X-Factor: Ronny Turiaf.  The French big man took off in the AQR, averaging 9.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. In the two-leg qualifying final against Belgium, the Golden State Warrior center averaged 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in pushing the French to Poland.

Key stat: Five.  After Germany superstar Dirk Nowitzki decided not to play in Poland, German coach Dirk Bauermann made good on his talk to bring young players into the senior team with five players born in 1988 or later.

Sounding off: "We know the German team - despite their youth - will be organized, as all German teams are. Discipline will be one of their big strengths. So we have to fight against this. We must try to cut passing lanes, to try to put them out of their position because we also know they are very tall. And if we let them play their game it could be very difficult for us." -Vincent Collet (France Coach)