And the record is good, with five successes in the league – for three losses -, a qualification…
And the record is good, with five successes in the league – for three losses -, qualification for the semi-finals of the Leaders Cup Pro B (1) and a place in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France. “It’s a crazy pace but we manage to be in all the tables for the moment”, continues the pivot.
However, the match in Saint-Chamond was very badly started. “We are quite happy to come out six points behind in the first half. Then the BBD proved that it has a great capacity for collective reaction. “I felt my team on the rims in the first period, confesses Alexandre Ménard. I was really afraid that we would go out. »
Welded
Losing on the court of Couramiauds, “who are not a small Pro B team” recalls De Jong, would not have been infamous. But it was necessary to relaunch a series after the setback conceded Tuesday, November 29 in Quimper (92-81). “Even when we were in the hard we stayed together, smiles the coach. We managed to cope and regain momentum. It’s really a very brave game from my team and I’m very proud of them. »
The Boulazacois managed to reverse the trend by breaking the Indian sign of ball losses. The BBD is indeed one of the teams that misplaces the most balls (16.6 per game). “We lost nine balls in the first period and we only lost four in the second, recognizes Ménard. It is an important element because it is one of our cute sins. »
“At half-time, it was one of the principles: you had to keep shooting”
Another factor in the reversal of the situation: the address. This Boulazac team relies on three-point shooting. In the Loire, the Périgourdins took 33 shots behind the arc, and 32 from two points! A strong trend: Boulazac is 14th in the number of shots taken from two points (34.4) but third for the winners (27.3).
This can be explained by an imbalance: the offensive forces are stronger on the outside (Nic Moore, Martin Junakovic) than under the panels. In addition, inside players also have this ability to take shots from afar. In Saint-Chamond, Louis Cassier and De Jong drew at key moments to put their team in the game.
keep shooting
For their part, the pure interiors Olivier Cortale and Cheikh Sané brought hardness, combat, defense, screens, rebound… and few points. This season, the first is at 6.4 units on average, the second at 5.3.
In the post-match conference, Alexandre Ménard is often asked about this primacy in award-winning shooting. After all, living by the three-pointer is risky in the long run.
But the staff assumes without any problem. Thus, on Friday, “we only put one three-point shot in the first period, whereas in my opinion, we have a lot of shots that seem open. Unfortunately, we do not put in. At halftime, it was one of the principles: you had to keep shooting. That it was going to come back eventually. »
The coin fell on the correct side. And the week ended on a good note, especially in terms of accounts. It now remains to put everyone in formalin while waiting for the end of this insane schedule. In particular Nic Moore, the real spark of this team.
