The second semi-final of the Leaders Cup will have been as unbalanced as the first, on Saturday in Saint-Chamond. Asvel largely dominated Le Mans (90-65) to return to the final three years after their failure against Dijon in the last disputed edition (69-77), in February 2020. Sunday (6:30 p.m.), the Villeurbannais will face Bourg -en-Bresse, clear winner of the holding Dijon a little earlier (94-77).
Guided by Nando De Colo (15 pts including 11 in the first two quarters, 5 pd), Asvel quickly gained the upper hand over Manceaux who were greatly reduced by the injuries of four major players (13-22, 8th). The gap continued to swell before the break, up to 21 units (27-48, 20th).
“It’s the dream final. We will have to put feelings and fatigue aside because we are playing for a trophy
Antoine Dior, leader of Asvel, born in Bourg-en-Bresse
The MSB reacted by placing a 9-0 in 2 minutes on the restart (36-48, 33rd), but De Colo and Dee Bost (3/4 to 3 pts) quickly put their head back under water (44 -63, 28th). Abdoulaye Ndoye struggled in vain (13 pts, 8 rebounds), Matt Morgan scored 20 points with too much waste (1/9 to 3 pts, 5 stray bullets).
Unlike its difficult quarter-final against Boulogne-Levallois the day before (72-65), Asvel was able to calmly manage its game until the end by rotating its rich workforce. The twelve players have all played at least 13 minutes and scored points.
Antoine Diot, little used this season, was the only one to spend more than 20 minutes on the floor (11 pts, 7 pd in 21’28). “We made the match a little easier by creating a gap. This made it possible to rest certain executives that we will need on Sunday, appreciated the veteran leader, who will find his hometown club in the final, where he touched his first orange balls. It’s the dream final, after facing Boulogne and Le Mans where I also played. It will be a somewhat special match, we will have to put feelings and fatigue aside because we are playing for a trophy. »
