Asvel: 98
Paris : 92
Applied in attack and aggressive in defense, Villeurbanne continued its good series by winning against Paris Basket (98-92), Sunday during the 13e Elite day where he is now the sole runner-up to Cholet.
As in the Euroleague last week, Asvel, driven by Melvin Ajinça's 20 points, won their duel against the Parisians and secured a sixth victory in all competitions.
The Rhone residents, second with 10 victories and 3 defeats, now have one more success than Paris (3e) and one less than Cholet who won on Saturday against Nanterre (104-97).
Three days after the postponement of its Euroleague match against Fenerbahçe due to a virus which affected a large part of its workforce, Paris Basket was down to three points (8/27).
Nadir Hifi and his partners never took control of the match, despite the double-double from TJ Shorts (13 points, 12 assists), and conceded their fourth loss in a row.
De Colo and Ajinça as finishers
After a balanced first quarter (24-26) between two teams working inside, Asvel opened up a first gap. Well launched with a 12-2 at the start of the second quarter, the Villeurbannais took advantage of the aggressiveness and skill of Melvin Ajinça to undermine Paris.
Pierric Poupet's players were especially very effective in defense, slowing down the rapid transitions of the Parisians and muzzling Nadir Hifi, author of 12 points including only two in the first half (53-48), on free throws.
If the Parisians got back together at the start of the third quarter (55-54) thanks to Kevarrius Hayes (18 pt), Tiago Splitter's men never managed to regain the score, despite the efforts of TJ Shorts.
Nando De Colo (16 pt, 7 assists) held his own to maintain the gap, before Melvin Ajinça folded the game thanks to two winning shots two minutes from time.
Thanks to its victory (97-104) against Nanterre on Saturday December 21, Cholet retains the lead in the championship with 11 matches won, ahead of Asvel (10 victories, 3 defeats) and Paris (9 victories, 4 defeats).
The sheet
The quarters: 24-26, 29-22, 19-15, 26-29.
Referees: MM. Difallah, Jeanneau and Boury
Asvel: Ajinça (20), Maledon (17), De Colo (16), Roberson (13), Lee (10), Lighty (7), Sako (6), Black (5), Harrison (4).
Paris : Malcom (19), Hayes (18), Shorts (13), Hifi (12), Sy (9), Jantunen (8), Ward (4), Ouattara (3), Cavalière (2), Kessens (2), Lo (2).
