By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
LDLC ASVEL had a great start but Olimpia Milano answered in the second half and managed to come out on top 73-72 after a very exciting finish to the game.
Devon Hall wasn’t having a good night, not at all, but ended up being the hero of the night as he banked in the game-winning three-pointer with 27 seconds remaining. Those were Hall’s first points in the game as he went 0-5 from the field beforehand.
Shavon Shields scored 15 points for the victors including some big plays down the stretch while Nicolo Melli followed with 14 and Malcolm Delaney with 12 points.
On the opposing side, Elie Okobo was on fire with 25 points on 8-12 from two and 3-4 from three while Chris Jones helped out with 12 points.
ASVEL was dominating the first half against an offensively struggling Milano squad and the French were up by as much as 16 to start the third period. However, Milano went on a 19-3 run to recover and the duel stayed close until the very end.
Both teams went into crunch time fully focused as they kept exchanging three-point plays. Shields and Okobo were taking the spotlight with great plays but Hall was the one to seal the deal after Kyle Hines’ offensive rebounds and dish out pass. David Lighty and Charles Kahudi had a chance to win it for ASVEL but missed their respective shots as the clock ran down.
Feeling lost but finding a way
Milano stayed undefeated and improved to a 5-0 record compared to ASVEL’s 3-2 but coach Ettore Messina wasn’t expecting such an outcome after he saw the ratio between the two squads in the first half. It was one of the rare times he thought he had already lost the game.
“We just wanted to play a better basketball game in the second half. Personally, I felt the game was lost, even if a coach should never say this, that’s the reality. We were playing so bad and they were playing so well, it looked very difficult to come back,” he said and added.
“I just wanted my team to play well, I think the players just wanted to play well like they have in many other games. We played a fantastic second half. Defense was better with the exception of Okobo who just tore us apart, he had an unbelievable performance. On the other hand, we started making some shots finally, it was about time. At the end of the day, great players make plays and Shavon really took over the game in the fourth quarter. But everybody contributed to this game. Kyle Hines with his rebounds, Pippo Ricci with a couple of triples that were very important and very good defense. Everybody stepped up, and it’s one of those wins that can build even more confidence.”