In Loire-Atlantique, the suspense only lasted a quarter (14-17, 10th). The ALPCM Nantes then took the lead (18-17, 12th) and no longer let their opponent pass, only allowing them to come back to minus four (40-36, 25th) then minus nine on the end (67-58, 38th).
Up to 23 points behind
During this match, the locals gradually broke away, to lead by nine lengths at the break (36-27, 20th), then by 18 points at the end of the third quarter (54-36, 30th) and by 23 units (61 -38, 32nd, biggest gap) before seriously relaxing for seven minutes and seeing their lead melt from 23 to 9 points with two minutes remaining. We started to believe it on the Landes side but too late, their opponent driving the point home in the last two minutes to finish on a positive note of plus 12.
The opposing defense was aggressive, confining Basket Landes to 58 pts, which is not much. We noticed on the Nantes side the pivot Leclère (15 pts, best scorer), well assisted by Lailler in the paint (12 pts) and by the leader Desmars (13 pts). Les Espoirs landaises, who will have to earn their place as a pro, are still a little tender for many of them. Nevertheless, Wade-Gisse, with his 22 points, from the height of his 17 years, is on the right track. And she limited the damage by scoring 11 pts in the last ten minutes.
“We weren’t consistent”
“We are very happy to have won against a great team, we were focused on our game. At the end, fatigue helping, the pressure growing in front, we let go of the ballast. But we learn, we progress”, explained Maxime Bureau for the winners. “We had weak times and we weren’t consistent,” Vincent Joly would regret for the Landaises.
Tied for fourth with Avrillé, Basket Landes will try to recover on Saturday December 10 at home against Saumur (9th), a team within their reach.
