Parker plays five minutes for France
PAU, France -- Tony Parker returned from injury to help France beat Finland 82-72 in a European Championship qualifying match Saturday.
Parker
The San Antonio Spurs point guard, who missed Wednesday's 80-77 overtime win over Italy due to a right ankle sprain, was used sparingly by coach Vincent Collet.
He only played the first five minutes as France consolidated its position at the top of qualifying Group B in the Euro playoffs.
The team finishing first in Group B takes on the winner of Group A -- Bosnia, Belgium or Portugal. The European Championships are next month in Poland.
Parker had wanted to play Wednesday, but the Spurs brought him back to San Antonio for tests after he was injured in a collision with an Austrian player last month. Parker has said tests showed no signs of ligament tears or serious complications.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
