Under Collet's direction, "Les Bleus" grabbed the last ticket to the EuroBasket 2009 by trashing Belgium 92–54 in the final game of the repechage. At the European Championship, France won their first six games of the first two rounds but failed in the quarter-finals against the eventual tournament champion Spain. The French ultimately finished in fifth place, a performance which would grant the team the direct qualification for the next two major competitions, the 2010 FIBA World Cup and EuroBasket 2011.