Aurélien Canot, Media365, published on Friday November 29, 2024 at 11:25 p.m.
Manhandled in the first half by Anadolu Efes, this Friday evening at the Arena during a match counting for the 12th day of the Euroleague, ASVEL overthrew the Turks and signed their fourth victory (97-82) by reversing completely the situation after the break thanks in particular to Joffrey Lauvergne and Théo Maledon.
Two victories in three matches, including two in a row at home. ASVEL has never before experienced such a sequence since the start of this new Euroleague season. But there is certainly something better for this Villeurbanne team which confirmed on Friday evening during the 12th day its painful victory (77-74) obtained against Red Star Belgrade during its last home outing. In the meantime, Pierric Poupet's players had failed in the Principality against Monaco despite their incredible performance on long shots (14 out of 20 behind the line). They were nevertheless keen to recover on Friday, and that is precisely what they managed to do by recording their fourth victory by winning largely in front of their home crowd (97-82) against Anadolu Efes. If the final score may seem clear, it poorly reflects the difficulties that ASVEL experienced in the first half against the Turks who were deprived of their superstar Shane Larkin. At the break, it was the former double European champions, in turn euphoric on long-distance shots, who returned to the locker room with a considerable lead of eight points (55-47). The Turks and their two French players Rodrigue Beaubois, one of the best scorers of the evening with 20 points, and Vincent Poirier, less successful (10 points) than his compatriot and teammate then seemed well on their way to avoiding a second consecutive setback.
Lauvergne leads the revolt
They could not imagine, like many spectators at the LDLC Arena, that the second half would give rise to a real demonstration from the Rhodaniens, winners… 50 points to 27 over the last twenty minutes. Once again, Joffrey Lauvergne (18 points) and Théo Maledon (17 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds), two of the men in form at the moment on the ASVEL side, were the first to lead the revolt to win this stunning victory of which Nando de Colo (17 points, 4 assists), also excited after returning from the locker room, was one of the other architects while Paris Lee, who was making his return, compiled 8 points and 4 assists. With a slightly more flattering record (four victories, eight defeats), ASVEL climbs the ranking and joins Partizan Belgrade, 14th. But given the very good performance on Friday, there is hope for the arrival of Real Madrid on Tuesday. And that's the big news for this Villeurbanne team which has perhaps finally found its cruising speed.
