By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Wade Baldwin scored 21 points, dished out nine assists, and had two major plays in the very last seconds to push Maccabi Tel Aviv past ASVEL Villeurbanne 94 – 91 on the road.
Baldwin scored the layup that put Maccabi up 88 – 92 with 11 seconds to play and a couple of moments later blocked Nando De Colo’s attempt that could’ve sent the game to overtime. The French superstar, named “best European guard ever” by Baldwin, had previously made it 91 – 92 before Lorenzo Brown gave Maccabi a 3-point advantage with free throws.
“Hell of a game,” Baldwin said. His team moved to 7-5 with this result. “ASVEL is a tough team with a new coach. They try to build and win. When you step into the arena with the best European guard to ever play in my opinion, it’s a battle. I’m honored to make that stop. I’m happy for this team. All the battles that we have to go through as a club and we continue to show fight.”
De Colo finished with 22 points while Joffrey Lauvergne had 23 points and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrod dropped 19 points for ASVEL.
“I’m proud of my players. They fought,” said ASVEL coach Gianmarco Pozzecco after watching his squad drop to a league-worst-tying 2-10. “We will make the step to win games.”
Lorenzo Brown delivered 16 points, six rebounds, and four assists for Maccabi. Roman Sorkin had 15 points plus eight rebounds and Bonzie Colson posted 15 points of his own plus five boards.
Pointing out the problems despite the win
“We were always one second late defensively I think. Some of that cost us when it comes to game rhythm and we should play better,” Maccabi coach Oded Kattash said.
“It was a weird game but you have to give credit to ASVEL. We found a way to win, and I’m happy for that.”
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball