Certainly, these Choletais are stunning. They are hair-raising. Exciting. Impressive. Above all, they are very solid leaders of Betclic Élite, after this eleventh consecutive victory in all competitions, acquired at the end of a masterful performance on the Strasbourg floor.
This success obviously does not have quite the same flavor as the others for Fabrice Lefrançois, who reunited with Laurent Vila, whose assistant he has been for the last three years in the Mauges. The new coach of Cholet Basket really wanted to win. And he obviously knew how to transmit this motivation to all his players. You had to see them steal ball after ball, from the first quarter, to understand that everyone was still on the same page. Ready to do battle, despite a real deficit in outside skill in the first quarter (17-13, 10').
Listen to episode 2 of Cholet Basket, the podcast here
It was the three-point skill, clearly, which made the difference at the start of the match, thanks in particular to Dominic Artis, the other former member of the red and white house, whom Laurent Vila brought to Alsace. But Cholet compensated for his lack of success from afar with more aggressiveness, and accuracy. At the break, Ayayi and his gang had 7 interceptions, for 5 balls lost, while the Sig only showed one stolen ball for 10 lost! This is how CB returned to the locker room with a three-point lead (38-41, 20'). A very small nest egg, which Cholet would however make greatly profit from when it took over.
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-The method: an investment as impeccable as ever in defense, but enhanced by more fast play, more easy baskets, more skill. A little more of everything in short. And Laurent Vila, deprived very early of Brice Dessert – victim of a sprain on one of the first possessions – obviously did not have the solution. He is not the first this season to finish the match with his hands on his hips. Disappointed, almost disillusioned by the helplessness of his men in the face of the Cholet steamroller, which in the space of a quarter – the third – had therefore killed all suspense (58-71, 30').
If the Sig could not count on Dessert, Fabrice Lefrançois used very little Jamuni McNeace, who was also obviously diminished. This only gives even more relief to this victory for CB, once again stamped with the seal of the collective. We could talk about the great performance of Mohamed Diawara, with 12 points and 5 rebounds, the 14 points from Campbell and Vautier, the 13 points, 4 interceptions and 4 assists from Smith. We should cite them all, as always almost. Cholet, collectively, is definitely above the fray this season and signs this eleventh victory by shooting 29% at 3-pts, compared to 44% for his opponent (83-94)
