The eye of the special envoy
At the end of a bitter duel, Bourges Basket began the second group phase of the Euroleague, this Wednesday evening, with a setback on the floor of Basket Landes (76-73). Nothing shameful when we know that none of the nine teams who previously came to the Espace Mitterrand had managed to leave with victory.
The Montoises owe their success, in part, to good starts in both halves. With more impact, they quickly took a 9-point lead (11-2, 3rd) then ten points ahead at the start of the second half (53-43, 24th) while Bourges had regained its lead before the break (42-39, 20th).
Carried in particular by Slocum (9 points at half-time, with zero fouls at 3 points, 14 in the end), the former Berruyère Djekoundade (10 points) or their captain Clarince Djaldi Tabdi (14 points), the Landaises did not this time they didn't let Bourges come back and their lead of twelve points at the start of the last quarter (64-52) looked like a nice mattress.
If the TBB managed to muzzle Geiselsoder, the very good Mons long distance address (9 out of 18) gave some breathing space to Julie Barennes' players. A Berruyer burst in the last quarter nevertheless made the players and the Landes public feverish at the end of the match. Bourges even came back to within one possession (74-71) six seconds from the buzzer. Not enough, however, to avoid a third European defeat this season (76-73).
Next Wednesday, the last European match of the calendar year, at the Prado, against the Spanish team from Salamanca.
The player
Often, the quality of Artemis Spanou's work and impact is not reflected statistically. This Wednesday evening, in Mont-de-Marsan, the captain of Bourges Basket delivered a very complete match with eight points, eleven rebounds and three assists. Only downside: his two missed shots in the 34th while the Tango were trailing by 12 points.
At the state
While Basket Landes had only lost three balls in 34 minutes, the Montoises lost eight in the last six minutes. This series of small errors coincides with the moment when Bourges returned to this match where Tango never led.
