Villeurbanne won its third victory of the season in the Euroleague on Thursday at the expense of the Lithuanian club Zalgiris Kaunas 93 to 79 in its Astroballe venue during the 19th day. Its two previous successes of the season having been obtained away from home, ASVEL had not won at home in European competition since January 26, 2023, i.e. 343 days of drought.
This success, in a context heavy with rumors about the future of its Italian coach Gianmarco Pozzecco, puts an end to a series of ten defeats on the European scene (16 in total). But the French club remains stuck in 18th and last place in the Euroleague.
This is the second time this season that the Villeurbannais have beaten Kaunas, which they had already defeated in the first leg in Lithuania (91-88 on November 2). Asvel’s other success was acquired in Berlin against Alba (73-68 on November 15). These first two Euroleague victories came shortly after the arrival of Pozzecco, who succeeded TJ Parker on October 27 for a three-year contract.
The 51-year-old Italian technician was, however, not the first choice of president Tony Parker, who initially hoped to bring in Canadian Gordon Herbert, coach of Germany, world champions. His arrival, however, had given a second wind, which quickly faded away. Because for the moment, the record of the man who is also Italy coach is quite low with 10 victories in 24 matches in all competitions (3 victories, 12 defeats in the Euroleague; 7 v, 2 d in the French championship).
“It’s business, I know how it works”
In his defense, “Il Poz'”, who quickly requested the departure of leader-back Frank Jackson, is asking for reinforcements which he has still not obtained. His aging squad does not have at all the necessary arguments to fight in the Euroleague, forcing the Italian technician to limit rotations (only ten players were used on Thursday). “I repeat that we need help to move forward. I am doing my best and I am staying on the side of my club. I will not give up,” he reaffirmed during the press conference.
Building on this victory, Asvel, which returned to its Astroballe hall for the occasion due to not being able to sufficiently fill its brand new LDLC Arena in Décines-Charpieu (OL Vallée, 12,000 seats), can however regain a little confidence and hope to take off, finally, over the next two days with the upcoming receptions of Red Star Belgrade (14th) and Alba Berlin (17th).
These next two matches, scheduled for January 9 and 12, could decide the fate of Pozzecco and the possible promotion of one of his assistants, the Frenchman Pierric Poupet. “I understand. It’s business. I know how it works. I’ve never complained from the start but we have to keep working. I’m ready to respect the decisions that the club takes,” said the Italian technician. , assuring “never work while thinking about (one’s) future”.
Against Zalgiris, the Villeurbannais, still deprived of Nando de Colo, injured, controlled the game well, winning each of the four quarters (23-17, 28-26, 21-16, 21-20) with in particular the very great performances from Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot (27 pts), Youssoupha Fall (22 pts) and Paris Lee (22 pts).
“We deserve this victory, to win a Euroleague match because we have been so close to winning several times. We have been suffering for a while,” concluded Pozzecco.
The Roca Team has long led
Monaco conceded its second defeat in a row in the Euroleague by losing Thursday in Piraeus against Olympiakos (75-73) and performed poorly at the end of the 19th day of the European competition. This new defeat against a direct competitor for access to the quarter-finals comes at a bad time for the Roca Team, already beaten on Tuesday by Maccabi (93-83) in Belgrade.
The two teams eyeing the Final Four in May in Berlin engaged in an epic battle, but Olympiakos, transcended by the stifling atmosphere of its venue, had the last word. Because Monaco, which was in the lead for most of the match, fell to 10th place in the standings with now 10 wins for 9 defeats; Olympiakos moves up to fourth place (11V-8L). But Monaco wasted many opportunities, with unnecessary turnovers and easy unconverted lay-ups which gave the Greeks ammunition. They did not hold back, and on one of them Alec Peters released a winning shot to put the two teams back on par 6 minutes 45 seconds from time (62-62).
Despite a good Mam Jaiteh, in unexpected scoring mode (14 pts), the Roca Team did not confirm its victory in the first leg 85-77 where Mike James had shined, during the 11th day on the Rock. Thursday evening, “Magic” Mike was limited to a starving 4/14 on shots for only 10 small points, leaving the hero costume to his opponents Alec Peters and Isaiah Canaan, author of 14 and 16 points. Sasa Obradovic’s men will have to bounce back quickly to start a virtuous series, starting Tuesday at home against Vitoria.
2024-01-04 22:44:29
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