By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Partizan Mozzartbet was missing five key players and put up a fight, but ASVEL was not an easy opponent.
The French side got the 82-79 win with Theo Maledon scoring 21 points, Joffrey Lauvergne adding 17 against his former team, and Nando De Colo adding 14 points, plus the most important shot of the game with 12 seconds left.
“To win here in this crowd is always super hard”, said Lauverge after the final buzzer.
“We knew it was going to be a game of runs, but we have to stick together to take the win”, added Maledon.
Duane Washington with 22 points, Tyrique Jones with 16, and Sterling Brown with 15 tried to save the day for Partizan. Vanja Marinkovic also tried to play despite his recent injury woes but ended up contributing one point in nine minutes.
However, they couldn’t, and now both teams are tied at 7-9.
De Colo in the end
ASVEL proved that they are on the rise, closing the first quarter up by three (24-21). The French advantage extended to nine points (33-24) but Partizan got the lead (36-35) after a 12-2 run closing the first half up by six (45-39).
That ended up being the last time that Partizan was in control.
ASVEL didn’t back down and at the end of the third period, they were up by one (66-65) thanks to a three by Melvin Ajinca at the buzzer.
The dogfight continued and ASVEL entered the last three minutes leading by five (78-73). Still, Jones made it a two-point game (78-76) with 1.40 left on the clock.
With the game on the line, both sides missed, and with 12 seconds left, Nando De Colo with a big shot (80-76) decided the game. Sterling Brown missed a three in the next possession, Theo Maledon got the ball, got fouled, and made two free throws (82-76) and in the end, Washington trimmed the final point difference (82-79).
Photo credit: EuroLeague