Parker hoping to compete in worlds

San Antonio Spurs' guard Tony Parker said Thursday he was hopeful of competing for France in the world basketball championships in Turkey this summer.

"For the moment, in my head, I'm going to play. We have to see first how far we go with the Spurs, what we're going to do in the play-offs," said Parker, as he prepares with his side for the NBA play-offs in Dallas on Sunday.

Parker has competed in all major tournaments with France since 2005, despite the fact that Spurs were unhappy with the time this kept him away from the NBA team.

The fact that Parker has had a lot of injuries this season - ankle, hip, foot and hand - had led to speculation as to whether the France captain would compete in the worlds.

Parker, whose contract with the Spurs concludes at the end of next season, added that he will start on the bench against Dallas on Sunday.

Meanwhile, rookie Dallas guard Rodrigue Beaubois, who will meet compatriot Parker in the first round of the play-offs, insisted the France team was his "objective" but without knowing if his club would free him for worlds.

"We haven't talked about it yet. We'll do that when it's time to make a decision. I don't know what the answer will be, we'll see," said Beaubois.

Other French NBA players like Nicolas Batum (Portland), Ronny Turiaf (Golden State) or Joakim Noah (Chicago) have also left their participation open.

Charlotte forward Boris Diaw is the only French NBA player certain to compete, while the others await to see how their teams fare in the play-offs.

France, fifth at the 2006 world championships in Japan, are in the same group as Spain, Lithuania, Canada, New Zealand and Lebanon for the world championships from August 28 to September 12.