ASVEL vs Vitoria: Euroleague Loss & Regrets

ASVEL suffered a second defeat this week by losing (78-73) in the Vitoria hall, at the end of an intense match which will leave Villeurbanne with regrets, Friday during the 21st day of the Euroleague.

Three days after the logical defeat (69-80) at home against Real Madrid, Villeurbanne was not far from achieving a result for the Basques. The fault lies in a poorly negotiated first period where they let their opponent play into their hands in the wake of the 12 points from chief gunner Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot, defector from ASVEL.

Overwhelmed in the engagement and handicapped by a poor address, Pierric Poupet’s men also paid for their indiscipline with numerous losses of balls which condemned them to chasing the score. The only bright spot for ASVEL was the intense activity of new recruit Paul Eboua, who arrived in Villeurbanne on Monday, who was invaluable in keeping his team afloat, but his contribution proved insufficient to prevent Vitoria from taking the lead at the break (44-35).

This bottom of the table match experienced a spectacular rebound after returning to the court. In three actions, the Villeurbannais overturned everything: first a powerful dunk from Mbaye Ndiaye brought ASVEL within a length, before getting back in front on a lay-up from Thomas Heurtel, and widening the gap on another from Shaquille Harrison (51-48, 25th). This beautiful offensive sequence was magnified by a scathing 13-1 inflicted on the Basques in five minutes.

But ASVEL scuttled itself in the money-time, wasting free throws which would have allowed it to regain the advantage (68-68, 37th). Taking advantage of this awkwardness, the Basques turned the match into a 5-0 two minutes from the end (73-68). ASVEL will have to do even better against the leader of the Euroleague, Hapoel Tel-Aviv, which it will host in a week.