By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
ASVEL ended the court with a 2-0 record, however not only it was defeated in Munich, but also the final 104-63 score seems to be a hard pill to swallow.
The hosts dominated the game from wire to wire, starting with a 30-13 first quarter and never looking back after that. Maodo Lo, with 19 points, led a balanced offensive effort, which included four more players scoring in double-digits.
On the losing side, Amine Noua scored 16 points. Antoine Diot, with 13 points, seemed more ready than his teammates for a EuroLeague road game, however in total ASVEL suffered, especially on the boards.
Bayern had 36 rebounds against just 20. Things were even more discouraging for the visiting side if you take into account the fact that Bayern had 12 offensive and ASVEL only 14 defensive boards. Simply put, there was a 50% for a second-chance offense in every possession of the hosts.
ASVEL simply collapsed from the get-go and couldn’t keep up. The last period started with a 15-2 run by Bayern, and getting a 40-point lead was just a formality. As ASVEL coach Zvezdan Mitrovic said at the press conference: “We had no chance from the first possession until the end.”
It was all about reacting
Maodo Lo explained that Bayern needed to bounce back from a tough loss: “I think we showed a reaction to our previous game, a [German Cup] loss to Bonn, a disappointing loss where we played a horrible first half. So we came out for this game in the first half really focused and with a lot of intensity, and I think that helped us. I’m trying to be aggressive and implement my qualities in the game. It’s important for every player to be aggressive. If you’re not aggressive, you’re passive. In the EuroLeague, every team is tough. Also today. I mean this team beat Panathinaikos and Olympiacos. The win today is a credit to our performance. And if we’re able to [reproduce] this energy and this game, we have a chance to play with anyone.”
And coach Dejan Radjonic was simply satisfied: “We played a good game, all 40 minutes. Defensively it was good. We had an excellent percentage from three points and a lot of easy points and in the end a really good win for us, especially now. We had today the possibility to think about substitutions because the result is what it was, and the schedule is such that you have to think about that.”
Photo credit: EuroLeague