A completely crazy match! Orléans Loiret Basket wins the derby against neighboring Blésois at the end of an exciting encounter. The challenge was immense for the OLB during this 9th day of Pro B: trying to beat the leader, undefeated since the start of the championship. And the first minutes did not give the feeling that the trend was going to be reversed, quite the contrary. Lamine Kébé's men suffered the law of the ADA, conceding an 18-4 very quickly. The confidence accumulated in recent weeks in the ranks of the locals was felt, with total (or almost) long-distance success. For its part, Orléans lost too many balls and seemed to run out of solutions to really get into the game. By the time they returned to the locker room, OLB was behind by 14 points.
It was at this precise moment that the match changed. Lamine Kébé found the right words with his players, who started the second half at a much more sustained pace with a very high defense. A 7-0 from the start to build confidence and behind, the Loiretains built this comeback in the wake of an excellent Ludovic Negrobar. The Orléanais equalized at the very end of the third quarter (59-59). And it was a breathtaking final quarter that both teams delivered. The Blésois resisted for many minutes, before cracking in the face of the OLB's newfound skill behind the three-point line. In the final minute, Lee Moore put the final nail in the coffin a masterful shot from the parking lot. Final score: 75-82. A completely crazy match, really. And perhaps founder for this Lamine Kébé version OLB.
Man of the match
What a performance from Timothé Crusol. The Abraysian by birth wanted to leave his mark on this “Centrico”. During the first half, the full-back was one of the only ones to survive due to his aggressiveness. And he took it up a notch again when he returned from the locker room. Very clean in his shooting choices (17 points, best scorer for OLB), Timothé Crusol also delivered a great performance in defense as wellcontaining Blésois Timothé Vergiat at the end of the match. “I never lost against the ADA when I was in the youth teams, it wasn't going to start tonight!” he said after the meeting, a bit teasingly…
Sentence of the day
“Before returning to the locker room at half-time, I ask my assistants the question: Am I losing my temper or am I reassuring them? You have to give credit to Pierre (Tillay) and Steeve (Bourgeois) who told me that we were only fourteen points away, that we were still in the game. So I made tactical corrections, particularly defensively. There were a few rants, then we left. It's a great team victory. We are very happy, very proud. This victory will give us strength for the future. I thank the Magic'Sup who came this evening, because they made some noise. They didn't give up on us, especially at the beginning when it was complicated. So thank you to them!” confided Lamine Kébé after this success.
The number of the day
28: as the number of points conceded by Orléans during the second half. A masterful second act, of rare intensity! This evening, OLB remains 5th in Pro B but is getting closer to the results of the leading teams.
