By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Gianmarco Pozzecco made his EuroLeague debut on the bench of LDLC ASVEL, and his side showed resilience against in-form Virtus Segafredo Bologna. However, it wasn’t enough for the win.
Led by Tornike Shengelia, the Italian side grabbed their fourth win in a row, handing ASVEL their fifth defeat in the dying moments with a final score of 84-87 in Astroballe.
“Great team effort. We made some mistakes defensively, but we tried to fix it with the effort. Even when we were in foul trouble, we played with physicality. Lot of credit to ASVEL, they came out strong and physical, but we got the win done and I’m proud of my team“, said Shengelia, who finished the match with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists for a game-high PIR of 29
Isaia Cordinier was the top scorer of the winning side with 20 points, while Marco Belinelli added 16, and Jordan Mickey 11 points.
ASVEL on the right track
“I’m really happy and proud of my players. We did what we had to do, made a step forward, we just didn’t win the game, but we could and that is the most important. I’m so happy for my players, they played tough and fought. We are on the right way,” Pozzecco said after his EuroLeague debut.
Youssoupha Fall led his team with 16 points and six rebounds for a PIR of 22, Joffrey Lauvergne added 14, and Mike Scott 13 points, while Nando De Colo finished the match with 12. Paris Lee also had a good game, just two points shy of a double-double, dishing out 10 assists.
Shengelia and Hackett took over in crunch time, Cordinier sealed the win
Virtus took the tight first quarter in the dying moments, and went on a break leading 21-18, but ASVEL responded with a 10-0 run in the second period and took over control, going to halftime with a 42-39 surplus.
In the third period, the lead changed hands often, and that promised an intense finish, with the Bologna team entering the final period with a 63-65 lead. Pozzecco’s team didn’t back down; they fought for the first win until the very end, but Shengelia and Daniel Hackett took over in the crunch time, while Cordinier made the key layup with 11 seconds on the clock to seal the game.
“Very solid win, solid game. We weren’t afraid of their desire to respond and to prove themselves. It was a very physical game, but we responded well, stayed in the game, stayed solid, did excellent job on rebounds, and were sharp offensivelly,” coach Luca Banchi said after his side improved to 4-1 after losing the opening game against Zalgiris.
The Italian team will try to keep the winning streak alive in the Round 6 match against Anadolu Efes (03/11), while ASVEL will go to Kaunas to face Zalgiris (02/11) and try to stop the bleeding, after losing for the 18th straight time, including the last season’s negative streak.