By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Jumping to an early double-digit lead, Real Madrid overcame a scary drought in the fourth quarter and an injury to Walter Tavares for the narrow win, 75-71, over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne in Astroballe Friday.
With 28.7 seconds remaining in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 26 contest game, Tavares hurt his left ankle in a defensive effort opposite Nando De Colo. The Cape Verdean center was helped off the court and directly to the locker room. EuroLeague’s all-time leader in blocks, also topping the list of players with the most rejections this season, exited with yet another solid contribution of seven points, seven rebounds, three blocks, one assist, and one steal over 26 minutes.
“I saw that he twisted his ankle, but I don’t know if it’s serious or not,” reacted Chus Mateo, a few minutes later in the postgame flash interview. Even before a possible new entry to the injury list, Rudy Fernandez (illness), Guerschon Yabusele (ankle), Sergio Llull (knee), Carlos Alocen (knee), and Anthony Randolph (knee) were all ruled out for the game. Questionable to play with a neck injury, Petr Cornelie instead put in five points, four rebounds, and one assist over 16 minutes for Madrid in his home country.
Tavares leaving the court injured in the closing minutes of the game vs ASVEL pic.twitter.com/s3Ttwd14Kq
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) March 3, 2023
“We were controlling the game almost all the way, but they came back strong. We doubted a little bit, but I am happy about the victory. It is very important for us,” said Fabien Causeur, among other French visitors. The veteran guard made 5/6 from the field for a game-high 14 points.
With Los Blancos looking stuck, Gabriel Deck scored six of his 12 points for breathing space midway through the fourth quarter. Looking to come back from an earlier 17-point deficit, the French club with an 8-1 sprint to start the last period cut the deficit to two points.
Undefeated in the head-to-head series since 2003, the eighth straight win against ASVEL was also the fifth in a row in the 2022-23 edition of EuroLeague. Mateo’s side went up to 18-7 and also banked in a ninth win in 13 away games this season.
“On the road, it’s always tough,” mentioned Nigel Williams-Goss after chipping in 13 points, “I am proud of the way we fought and stayed poised in the tough moments.”
Head coach T.J. Parker to the sidelines
Dealing with a back issue, T.J. Parker was not available for the home team. Upon consultation with the ailing play-caller on the initial game plan, assistant Morgan Belnou took over head coaching responsibilities. His guidance, connected to the fifth consecutive EuroLeague loss, led to a drop to 8-18, including 4-10 at home for the recently-crowned Leaders Cup champions in France.
De Colo tallying 13 points upped his career total to 4,145, only seven points behind second place in the all-time scoring list of EuroLeague and Juan Carlos Navarro. Jonah Mathews shared the team-high 13 points in the loss. Youssoupha Fall tallied ten points and with nine rebounds reached 500 in his EuroLeague career. Joffrey Lauvergne (knee) has yet to be cleared to return to action but was present to support his team.
“Our defense in the second half was very good. I am proud of the players. After the first half, we improved on offensive rebounds and the transition game,” summed up Belnou highlighting the positives, “But when you play against Real Madrid and down by 15 points at the break, it’s complicated.”
Connecting only 4/26 from beyond the arc, ASVEL disrupting the best-rebounding team of the league nearly turned the tables down the stretch.
A two-game week coming up
Currently tied with FC Barcelona on top of Spain’s Liga Endesa standings, both at 17-3, the reigning ACB champions will travel to Galicia to meet Monbus Obradoiro Sunday before the next double-game week of the EuroLeague Regular Season. Additional ACB rivals in Cazoo Baskonia and Valencia will visit WiZink Center Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.
The defending champions of France seeking to improve a poor 11-9 tally so far in the Betclic Elite LNB Pro A are set to welcome SIG Strasbourg in Villeurbanne Sunday. Resuming Europe’s premier club continental competition on the road, they will face FC Bayern Munich Tuesday and Zalgiris Kaunas Thursday.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net