By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne grabbed a 74-72 victory in overtime against hosts Crvena Zvezda, thanks to Tonye Jekiri’s impactful performance in the extra five-minute period.
Jekiri exited the court with a huge double-double of 18 points and 19 rebounds in 31 minutes on the court.
His presence was decisive in overtime, as he was the one to hand ASVEL the victory in the end with a two-pointer and a free throw that handed the French side their first victory on the road.
“We feel good. It has been a long time without a road win,” Jekiri said after the game. “This one, coach told us to just believe, that in the second half, if we play together and have less turnovers, we could win this game. That is what we did. We did not play pretty basketball, but a win is a win. We take this one.”
“Maybe we were lucky in the end”
“It was a big fight, both teams really wanted it. Maybe we were lucky in the end. They missed some free throws in overtime. But I think we deserved it, because my guys really fight and fight. So I want to congratulate my guys, but also Zvezda for an absolutely fair play tonight. The fans and everybody were really great; I enjoyed it like always in Belgrade”, said coach Zvezdan Mitrovic after the game.
A rather low-tempo game for both sides in the first half saw Zvezda leading 36-32 at halftime. The hosts kept expanding their lead in the second half though the French side trimmed the deficit to 65-63 with two minutes left. Jordan Taylor stole possession with 1:20 to go, while he missed on a three-pointer attempted, to be followed by a missed one by Baron as well, with the game going to overtime.
Baron and Lorenzo Brown led Zvezda in scoring, with 15 points each.
Photo: EuroLeague