Betclic ELITE – With yet another stunning Matt Mobley, the JDA overcame the CSP which did not fail by much (75-69). The part that smelled like the playoffs atmosphere highlighted the two teams in defense, failing to offer a great basketball score.
Dijon-Limoges, a duel that smelled like the playoffs on paper, 10 days from the end of the championship, between 5th and 9th before the meeting. The game – to be cut with a knife with many changes of leaders – will have been very tight, giving pride of place to the defenses.
Limoges, who had to do without Jayvon Graves, sick at the last minute, had a hard time starting his match. 48 hours after its prestigious success against Monaco, the CSP scored only six small points in seven minutes. The tone was set in this tough match, and we already guessed that the beautiful game and the great flights would be for another evening. If there is one lesson to be learned from this match, it is that Dijon has confirmed its return to form from a defensive point of view, with access to the most complicated circle for visitors. In a padlocked game, the Burgundians first took the lead, somehow (16-15, 10 ‘). Unsuccessful, both teams relied on second chances and small mistakes to score.
Nicolas Lang (4 points at 2/7) often found himself surrounded by Robin Ducoté, author of an aggressive and perfect defense against him on numerous occasions. Limoges then tried to mix its defenses on the other side of the field to disrupt a JDA still struggling with its attack… Unfortunately for the CSP, Bryce Jones (6 points at 1/4 in 24 min in the end) & co were hardly more effective than their evening opponent. Little to the party this season in Burgundy, Abdoulaye Loum (author of his 7 points in the first period), made the Sports Palace exult almost at the buzzer (35-30, 20 ‘).
A battle of the trenches
Still little inspired offensively despite nice caviars distributed, David Holston (6 points and 5 assists) finally set the sights from afar, and he was followed by Jonathan Roussel (12 points in 16 min) who scored 7 points in a row, to the good memory of his former team (54-48, 28 ‘). We thought Dijon launched… A scathing 7-0 afflicted by the Limoges set the record straight.
Without solutions, taking shots early on the clock, the locals again lost their basketball against a CSP who caught himself making the ball live, finding « cuts » devastating behind the Dijonnais (56-60, 33′). And when Holston lost another ball, Lucas Ugolin punished the Burgundians with a big dunk (56-62, 35′). This time again, it was thought that this game had found its winner. Not really, since the local walking firecracker, the unpredictable Matt Mobley (13 points including 8 in the last quarter) – already prominent at Ekinox on Sunday – sent two big shots from afar. Suddenly, the Dijon defense became unbreathable and the atmosphere electric. Finally aggressive against the circle, Markis McDuffie (12 points and 8 rebounds) and his people were taking a short break. David Holston returned his shots, not without difficulty (72-65, 39′).
Despite the immense efforts of the most precious Desi Rodriguez (20 points and 10 rebounds), once again enormous and admirable in combat, the CSP ended too far. A misplaced offensive rebound at Gavin Ware (9 points in 13 min) and an air ball from afar from the very uninspired Mark Klassen (2 points at 1/4, -1 evaluation in 22 min) ended up showering the hopes of the men in green. In a match that ultimately looked like “Jean-Louis Borgesque”, it was the JDA who finished the job, while recovering the point average over their opponent (75-69). The perfect shot for Nenad Markovic’s men, in short.
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March 29, 2023 at 12:10 PM
Dijon-Limoges, a duel that smelled like the playoffs on paper, 10 days from the end of the championship, between 5th and 9th before the meeting. The game – to be cut with a knife with many changes of leaders – will have been very tight, giving pride of place to the defenses. Limoges which had to do without Jayvon Graves, sick of last mi…
