By Stefan Djordjevic / sdjordjevic@eurohoops.net
LDLC ASVEL bounced back from a double-digit deficit and grabbed an 83-77 home win against TD Systems Baskonia in Roud 22 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
David Lighty and Norris Cole led the way with 21 and 20 points respectively while William Howard helped with ten.
Cole wasn’t satisfied with the first half and was of a mindset to make an example going forward: “In the second half, we came out aggressive. I wanted to be a lot more aggressive, try to set the tone for us. We played great defense as a team, we rebounded the ball well and we did not turn the ball over. When we do that, with an aggressive mindset, we give ourselves a chance to win every game. We had a competitive game against Olympiacos that we gave away, we came back and rebounded against Valencia. We wanted to close out this little homestand with a win. We won two out of three, now it is time to go on the road and see if we can get a win against Crvena Zvezda.”
For Baskonia, Alec Peters scored 15 followed by Rokas Giedraitis with 13 and Achille Polonara with 11 points. Youssoupha Fall had 11 as well.
Despite having a 14-point lead early on (34-20), Baskonia couldn’t hold on until the end. In fact, ASVEL rather quickly turned things around as they melted the deficit midway through the third quarter and found themselves up by 12 early (74-62) in the final period. The Spaniards tried to recover (80-75) but it was far too late for a shocking return.
“Players brought energy, especially on defense. Everything was hard for them. We know what it takes in the EuroLeague to win. The guys came back in the second half and we did a great job. We got stops, we got momentum on offense, that’s the key of basketball. Now, why not keep going. Last four games in the EuroLeague we probably should have gone four-for-four. We lost one and won three of the last four. The level we have been playing has been good,” coach TJ Parker said.
With this win. ASVEL improved to an 8-14 record and got closer to Baskonia which 9-13 at the 13th spot of the standings.