With 12 victories on the clock, have Strasbourg, Le Portel and Nanterre reached the milestone ensuring the maintenance in Betclic Elite? Yes, if we take into account that the SIG has two games behind – they played the first last night in Monaco -, and that we consider that Le Portel and Nanterre, who have won their two duels this season against at Elan, in fact have a margin of three victories over Pau and four over Fos. However, it is difficult to see the Béarnais and…
With 12 victories on the clock, have Strasbourg, Le Portel and Nanterre reached the milestone ensuring the maintenance in Betclic Elite? Yes, if we take into account that the SIG has two games behind – they played the first last night in Monaco -, and that we consider that Le Portel and Nanterre, who have won their two duels this season against at Elan, in fact have a margin of three victories over Pau and four over Fos. However, it is difficult to see the Béarnais and the Provençaux finish on a 3/6 and a 4/6, while the Nordistes and the Nanterriens would no longer win a match.
They are therefore only four still engaged in the fight for maintenance. And five days from the end – six for Elan and Fos who will update their calendar on Sunday April 23 against Bourg and Strasbourg – we went to take the pulse of our colleagues covering the matches of Blois, Nancy and Fos.
With two wins ahead of Pau, which it has beaten twice, and the point average over Fos, the ADA is in a favorable position
Olivier Allègre (The New Republic). “We had trouble, throughout the season, to identify this team. And Mickaël Hay, his coach too, since he testified, at the beginning of April, to have difficulty in “raising the mayonnaise”. We do not always feel a perfect understanding, the will to play for others. This is what was reproached during the defeat against Portel, but a week later, against Le Mans, the collective energy was there, with a decisive Amadou Sow since he broke all his records in this match: 26 points and 11 rebounds.
With two wins ahead of Pau, which it has beaten twice, and the point average over Fos, the ADA is in a favorable position. His schedule is difficult, but we have to see what the others will have to play. For example, playing Monaco on the last day, when the Monegasques will be 3 days from the Euroleague Final Four – if they qualify of course – it may not be as insurmountable as one might think. “.
Even though Nancy was able to beat Le Mans by 20 points, there are quite a few worrying signs
Thomas Simon (East Republican). “Since the start of the season, we have heard, especially from coach Sylvain Lautié, that the support of the public will help to obtain the number of victories necessary to maintain it. But against Dijon, we did not feel this desire to mark our territory. When you play your skin and after 15 minutes you are at -23… So you have to believe that Gentilly’s support will not be enough.
Even if, just before Dijon, the team was able to beat Le Mans by 20 points, there are quite a few worrying signs. Sometimes it looks like handball: those who attack cannot defend, and vice versa. This is the case of Gombauld, able to score but who is systematically pushed near the circle. Nancy, it’s the 15e defense of the Betclic Elite; 99 points taken in Paris, 91 in front of Dijon, it’s too much when you play the maintenance. With three games out of five at home, the schedule is favourable. The next one against Strasbourg will still look like a death match”.
The Fosséens still have in mind the happy ending of last season, when they were saved at the last second of the last day
Alain Agostini (La Provence). “The Fosséens will fight until the end. They still have in mind the happy ending of last season, when they escaped at the last second of the last day, winning at Portel. The bad news is the injury of Affo Mama who sprained his ankle against Monaco.
We feel a group still involved, he proved it last week in Monaco where he finished the first half tied with the leader. Rémy Vallin, the coach, can also count on leading players, like Gaines. Despite everything, he would like to be able to count on more efficiency and realism in the last gesture. On the calendar side, it is not unplayable “.
