First clash of the season between Paris and ASVEL. A stylistic opposition between two coaches who have never faced each other, Pierre Puppet et Francesco Tabelliniwho practice two opposing styles of play (Pace the fastest in EuroLeague for Paris, the 4th slowest for ASVEL). All between two teams from the bottom of the EuroLeague standings, but who still had a victory in their last match. So obviously, this duel, a remake of the semi-finals of the 2024 French championship, was particularly interesting. And there was suspense until the end.
The two teams went blow for blow throughout the match. A match of runs, with 10-0 on both sides on several occasions. Two men finished top scorers: Glynn Watson Jr on the Villeurbanne side with 28 points, and Nadir Hifi Parisian side with 26, in addition to 7 assists. But it is indeed a third man who takes on the role of hero of the match: Nando de Colo.
Discreet for three quarters (8 points), the EuroLeague legend took matters into his own hands in the money-time, simply scoring a 3-point shot… every minute in the last three, in addition to an assist. Three shots that made the stands of the LDLC Arena roar. Thanks to its remarkable composure, ASVEL leaves with a second victory in a row, even if Paris did not give up until the end and ultimately failed by five small points (94-89).
Here are the three shots in question:
CLUTCH Nando De Colo 🎯
3 three-pointers in the most important moment of the 🇫🇷 derby to seal the home W!@LDLCASVEL I #EveryGameMatters pic.twitter.com/H39Dsi1L95
— EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) December 30, 2025
ASVEL turns the page on injuries
This entire ASVEL is necessarily a different team than the one which had to navigate through the numerous injuries at the start of the season. They never had all their weapons to try to compete with other European teams. “Nothing is easy for us during the season, but we continue to fight, and tonight I think we saw the team that Pierric wants to build” analyzed the maestro of the evening Nando de Colo after the match, at the EuroLeague TV microphone. At the end of the year, everything is better. The Villeurbannais went for their 3rd victory in their last 4 European matches.
Faced with a Parisian team which suffered from the absence of Jared rod et Daulton Men. Which didn’t stop them from delivering “a very good basketball game” in the words of opposing coach Pierric Poupet. The final score with 183 points scored shows that the match was played at their pace, at full speed. Nadir Hifi notably scored 26 points through some spectacular actions, like this and-one at the end of the first half thanks to an impeccable “Gortat screen” from Leo Cavaliere (5 points, 5 rebounds). With 6/14 on shots and 11/15 on free throws, he scored 30 points and consolidated his place as top scorer in the EuroLeague.
A better managed end of the match
But in the execution at the end of the match, he was overtaken by the maestro Nando de Colo. “At the end of the match, they executed better than us. They took the shots they needed, and we didn’t. It’s a way of analyzing the match” recognized Francesco Tabelliniwho also regretted the… 23 offensive rebounds left to ASVEL. Note the 5 sockets in this sector of They are going to I goexcellent on both ends of the floor this evening (9 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 1 block).
With De Colo and Thomas Heurtel (8 points, 8 assists), the former red lantern of the EuroLeague ensures the return of two veterans who are particularly reassuring in tense moments. To which we add a Glynn Watson Jr simply fantastic throughout the match, and who can also take cartridges. Which could make the difference in other close matches like tonight.
“Mentally, we are strong. We were down by 5, 8, 10 points, but we kept our rhythm and our concentration, which was the key word before the match, and that made the difference…” concluded Nando de Colo. Pierric Poupet underlined the keyword “team”, which was highlighted in red on the board in the locker room. His team moved back to 18th position in the EuroLeague, tied for record with Paris, 17th.
Simple, fast and efficient basketball from ASVEL ⚡🏀
As always, Maestro Nando pulling the strings, Mbaye Ndiaye finishing the job at the rim 🎯🔥 pic.twitter.com/a2L7DbO4OK
— SKWEEK (@skweektv) December 30, 2025
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