During the 14th day of Betclic Elite, SIG Strasbourg welcomed Nanterre 92 to Rhenus Sport. This traditional Christmas match was so important in the race to qualify for the Leaders Cup. Building on two consecutive successes away to La Rochelle and Dijon, the Alsatians wanted to validate these good results with a victory at home, in a festive atmosphere. Unfortunately, at the end of a very offensive match, SIG Strasbourg did not manage to overcome the accumulated gap and ended up losing with a score of 88-95.
THE DEAL
If an Alsatian victory in no way guaranteed obtaining a ticket for Caen, it would still bring Laurent Vila's men closer to the precious sesame. For this, again, it was necessary to overcome Nanterriens who remained on two victories in the last three matches, with the only hitch being a defeat against the Cholet leader. Left behind in the race to qualify for the mid-season competition, the Hauts-de-Seine club was keen to make a move on the road to move up the rankings.
MATCH SUMMARY
Q#1: Pleasant start
The match started perfectly with a basket from Chikoko just after the jump ball. Concentrated and diligent, the SIGmen made an impeccable start. Chikoko reigned in the paint and Cazalon was on fire from behind the arc. Opposite, Nanterre tried to equalize with its Sene-Lacombe back pair (13-12, 6'). The pace was frantic in this start with very few mistakes to interrupt the play. Both teams went blow for blow in transition. The address was also present, which made the game even more pleasant for the more than 6,000 spectators present at Rhenus Sport. The substitutes brought a lot of energy coming off the bench, like Brice Dessert, who was returning from injury (20-17, 8'). As the match progressed, the defenses got tougher and the players in green took a slight advantage at the end of the first quarter. 20-21 (Eval: 24-25).
Q#2: Defense too porous
At the start of the second act, SIG Strasbourg resumed its bad habits by losing balls and giving Nanterre easy points. Fortunately, Da Silva's men were giving gifts by missing shots close to the rim. On the other hand, in order not to be left behind, we had to count on a triple from Kruslin and a gala Vitalis Chikoko which left Nanterre's interior without a solution (29-32, 14'). In such a close match, every detail was going to be important and Jeff Roberson did good with his offensive rebounding activity. The active hands of the Nanterrians caused a lot of problems for the Strasbourg ball handlers. Both teams played a very nice offensive game with ball movement. Although the match was close, Laurent Vila's men were still behind in the score (38-41, 18'). Carried by a great Desi Rodriguez, Nanterre 92 was in the lead when returning to the locker room. Halftime: 43-49 (Eval: 49-65).
Q#3: Insufficient defense
The second half began on the same basis with an Alsatian defense overwhelmed by events. The Nanterre players constantly found fault in attack and passed a 10-4 to remind us that they would not be giving any gifts this Christmas period. Laurent Vila really didn't like what he saw on the pitch and called his players back to the bench by taking a time-out (47-59, 23'). Unfortunately, that didn't change anything and the Strasbourg side experienced a real slump with many lost balls. Da Silva's players showed more intensity and dominated in the paint with numerous baskets close to the circle which hurt the Alsatian heads. Dominic Artis tried, through his offensive talent, to keep his team in the match, but his isolations were not enough. Dussoulier did terribly with two long-distance baskets in quick succession to maintain the gap (57-69, 28'). At the end of the third quarter, Strasbourg had conceded too many points to hope for anything. 64-77 (Eval: 70-103).
Q#4: Went too far
This last act was an opportunity for the Strasbourg side to show a much more conquering face, particularly in defense. Laurent Vila decided to make traps and holds in pairs in order to make Nanterre lose track of the match and turn the situation around. The choice paid off, since Da Silva's players stammered their basketball in attack. Unfortunately, Maxhuni and others did not take advantage on the other side of the field (68-82, 34'). Jeff Roberson tried as best he could to rekindle the flame in Rhenus Sport by pulling in from afar. The Alsatians tried everything possible with a press zone in order to hinder the opposing ball's rise. A choice that paid off, since Kruslin and Artis one after the other put some serious juice in the room with an outside shot and an and-one. The fantastic comeback was within reach when Hugo Invernizzi released a three-pointer plus the foul came from elsewhere. The Strasbourg side, coming back to three points with a minute to go, even had the opportunity to snatch extra time with a long shot from captain Kruslin. Unfortunately, the latter did not fall in and the Alsatians ended up losing. End of the match: 88-95 (Eval: 97-118).
THE MATCH IN SPEED:
SIG Strasbourg – Nanterre 92: 88-95
Rhenus Sport: 6,166 spectators
Referees: MM. Collin, Hamzaoui and Jeanneau
Periods: 20-21, 23-28 (halftime: 43-49), 21-28, 24-18 (End of match 88-95)
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