By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne snapped back from a two-game losing streak in a spectacular fashion, after defeating FC Barcelona at home 80-68 in Round 11 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. The French team put an end to Barcelona’s seven-game undefeated streak and reached its second victory of the season.
David Lighty paced the home team into their third-quarter run when they completely overran the Blaugranas and finished the game with 17 points, two rebounds and two assists. Norris Cole made sure the hosts kept Barca at bay and tapped 14 points to seal the win, most of them in the second half. Allerik Freeman added 12 points for TJ Parker’s squad and Charles Kahudi stepped up with 10 points.
“I am not surprised. We have been practicing well and we got a guy back like Norris [Cole] who can help us scoring points and doing all those little things. For me, defensively, we did a great job. Everything we wanted to do, we did it, so they deserved it. If we just beat Barcelona, the number one team, I think we can beat anybody in any given day. And today, we proved that we can beat anybody”, said Parker after the game.
The French side had Barcelona on the ropes in the first half, with nearly perfect ball circulation that allowed them to get ahead by as many as 11 points in the second period, leading the first half 45-36.
Barcelona put a lot of pressure in defense starting the second half and even managed to trim the deficit to single digits, though feisty ASVEL could not be stopped in the end.
Nikola Mirotic and Nick Calathes led all Barca scorers with 14 and 12 points respectively, as Cory Higgins tapped 9 points. This marks the Spanish team’s second victory of the season.
Photo: EuroLeague