By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
A 13th win in as many Turkish Airlines EuroLeague showings in WiZink Center for defending champion Real Madrid.
Guerschon Yabusele dominating opposite of his former team fueled the 86-79 victory versus LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne on Thursday.
Perfect at home and a perfect double-game week powers up a 22-3 record, safe on top of the standings.
Leading the way in Round 25 of the Regular Season, Yabusele tallied 26 points with 7/9 field goals in just over 21 minutes. Besides matching his individual best for the 2023-24 season across all competitions, producing 13 points in the second quarter set the pace for Los Blancos. “Always love for them,” the French forward commented on the reunion with ASVEL, “But I can not let them win in here against us,”
With Walter Tavares (right ankle) on the injury list alongside Sergio Llull (right foot), French center Vincent Poirier stepped up once more packing eight points, five rebounds, four blocks, three assists, and one steal.
“It is not easy to keep the same level in every game,” mentioned head coach Chus Mateo, “We played against a team with a high level of physicality. We were able to solve it. Another win at home. It is always nice to win in front of our fans.”
Gabriel Deck chipped in 12 more points. The EuroLeague leader in assists, Facundo Campazzo was held to ten points and four rebounds without helpers, but Sergio Rodriguez dished out a game-high nine assists in a team total of 20.
Failing to extend a streak of double-digit showings in points and performance index rating to ten games, Dzanan Musa ended up with nine and five, respectively, for the team coached by Mateo.
Joffrey Lauvergne, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, and Nando De Colo sidelined left Pierric Poupet with ten available players across the double-game week. Red-hot Paris Lee tying his season-high with 23 points to go with seven assists was not enough in the capital of Spain. Mike Scott followed with 18 points.
“The second half was pretty much what I expected from my guys. They fought hard. We have to keep believing that we can build on some good stuff we saw tonight, defensively and offensively,” noted Poupet after his side fell to 5-20.
A trip to Milan
From completing a three-game homestand between the EuroLeague and Spain’s Liga Endesa against Girona and hoping to improve the ACB-high tally to 18-3 on Sunday, Los Blancos are back on the road next week. Visiting EA7 Emporio Armani Milan is on the EuroLeague Round 26 schedule on Thursday.
Up to second place and 15-5 in France’s Betclic Elite, ASVEL entertains Limoges CSP on Sunday and bumps into leading AS Monaco on Tuesday. Resuming the continental campaign, the focus then turns to an away game versus Baskonia on Thursday.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net