The soufflé has subsided. Not consistent enough, Paris Basketball conceded a logical defeat against Asvel (85-89) on Saturday, in match 2 of the Betclic Élite semi-finals, after easily winning the first round on Thursday (94-81).
“We were dominated,” admitted leader Nadir Hifi. The burst of pride in the last quarter, when the Parisians went back in front three minutes from the end after being down by 15 points, was not enough. We will have to win at least once in Villeurbanne, next Tuesday or Thursday, to hope for a match 5 at the Adidas Arena.
“Usually, it’s us who strike first, but here we were running behind the score,” continued Hifi, while his coach Tuomas Iisalo pointed out the “lack of intensity” of the Parisians at the start of the match. “We gave them a lot of chances on rebounds, we had difficulty making stops and launching counterattacks, which keeps us alive,” analyzed Hifi.
Experience Asvel
Even though Paris came back into the game, it failed at the worst moment, letting Asvel take the lead 20 seconds from time. “Was it the scenario of match 1 that stung us, the experience? I don’t know,” asked Rhone coach Pierric Poupet himself.
Still, Villeurbanne, involved in the Euroleague, accustomed to the playoffs and led by veterans Mike Scott (35 years old), Joffrey Lauvergne (32 years old) or Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot (29 years old), was able to manage these last stormy seconds in a hostile atmosphere. “We are perhaps better able to ignore what is happening around us,” admitted Villeurbanne resident Edwin Jackson (34 years old).
“It’s true that we have one of the youngest teams. Can we learn from this kind of defeat? Honestly, I don’t know,” admitted coach Iisalo. “It’s not a problem of experience,” said Nadir Hifi (21), for whom we don’t talk about “age”.
Paris in the image of Hifi
The leader was the symbol of his team: erased in the first act, he gained momentum afterwards (27 points in total). “At halftime, I was 3 points down, and where I might have panicked a few seasons ago, I was patient and knew how to cause fouls,” said Hifi. I have a status to respect, I am one of the leaders. If we have to win at this level, it’s going to be me or TJ (Shorts, author of 23 points). »
To win at this level, Paris will have to raise its level during the next episode of the series, Tuesday in Villeurbanne, after having failed to take advantage of its double reception. “We are going there to win, not to bring a match 5 to Paris,” vowed Hifi. We won by 20 points a few weeks ago, everything is doable. »
Paris can also rely on the previous Cholet to manage this setback at home. Already in the quarter-finals, the Parisians won in the Mauges to erase a setback at the Adidas Arena. Again on Tuesday, for the fifth match in 10 days? It should be without winger Collin Malcolm (24 minutes played Saturday), victim of a sprained ankle at the end of the match.
