Three days after getting his qualification for BCL play-inNanterre 92 hosted the leader of Betclic Elite on Saturday for the 13th day. Despite the absence of three players, Cholet Basket consolidated its leadership position (11-2) at the end of a close game where the Nanterriens only surrendered (97-104) in the very last moments. .
In a well-stocked Palais des Sports, Philippe Da Silva's men started this Christmas match with a bang, passing the leader a 7-0 in less than two minutes, followed by two long shots from Desi Rodriguez, untenable in the first act (10 pts). Serious in defense despite a sizeable deficit against the Maugeois, the 92 club dominated the first quarter 27-21.
Fabrice Lefrançois' team will, however, recover despite a suspicious skill behind the arc (4/17 in the first 20 minutes) and lead 38-33 in the 15th. The pivot Bastien Vautier lets his 2.10 m do the talking and swallows high passes. Isolated in the corner, Lucas Dussoulier found the target from afar and gave the Nanterrians the lead (48-46) 2 minutes from half-time. But a mid-range shot from De Sousa, in response to an and one from Justin Tillman, puts the two teams back on level terms (50-50) at the break.
Many whistles
In front of Pascal Donnadieu who is gradually rediscovering his habit of following the match standing up, our players attack hard in Q3, but, no more than their opponent, manage to take off on the scoreboard (9 points maximum difference on both sides). The physical duel, with an aggressive Cholet team, driven by a first-line attack, is settled very regularly on the free throw line (70 attempted in total).
The former member of the house Joël Ayayi produced a high-flying second period (15 pts), as did Chris-Ebou Ndow (17 pts, 7 rebounds) and TJ Campbell, to whom the Palace, grateful to the author of a legendary basket in the final of the Euro Challenge 2015could almost forgive his precious shots at the end of the match. But it was his compatriot Aaron Wheeler who extinguished the hopes of an exploit by crucifying Nanterre from afar twice in money time.
Justin Tillman is blending better and better into the collective
Driven by a conquering state of mind and a desire to redeem themselves after a failed start to the season, Philippe Da Silva's players will not have to be ashamed of a setback against the solid leader of Betclic Elite. Granting a certain “frustration” after the match, the Nanterre coach will highlight the progress of his team in line with the last two matches, saluting the remarkable 111 collective evaluation. “There are defeats where you learn, and tonight we learned a lot”recognized the coach of Nanterre 92. He also paid tribute to the strong comeback of Justin Tillman, which he attributes to efforts in “managing your frustration” compared to less playing time than in his past teams.
Article by Vincent Nief
