JDA Dijon seems to have regained its mojo by stringing together a third consecutive victory in all competitions. Facing Cholet, the Legname group will have achieved another successful collective performance. With this new success, the Burgundians return to a small victory from the last qualifying place for the Playoffs and maintain a tiny hope.
The start of the match was sluggish with two teams struggling to find rhythm offensively. The Choletais rely on Stevenson’s outside skill as well as Salaün’s speed. The Burgundians for their part can count on the vision and percussion of Cameron Hunt on penetration. Beyond these few offensive flashes, it is indeed the defenses which take precedence over muddled attacks which multiply the turnovers and missed shots. In this first defensive quarter, it was the Dijonnais who took the lead (15-19) thanks to two long-distance bombs scored consecutively by the Oniangue/Ducoté duo as well as a sublime basket from midfielder David Holston at the buzzer.
After having preheated for 10 minutes, the Burgundian attack gradually begins to free itself to offer a nice offensive spectacle. The players from the City of Dukes perfectly exploit the pick and roll to score points in the paint and create gaps to find open shooters. The Dijonnais impose their tempo and manage to create a big gap (23-38), in the middle of the quarter, thanks to two long distance banderillas from the Holston / Caver duo as well as yet another pick-and-roll concluded by Dokossi. Robin Ducoté completes the highlight of the JDA with another converted three points.
Beyond its offensive demonstration, the JDA offers a new very high level defensive performance which completely suffocates the Cholet attack. The Burgundian defense wonderfully combines great external pressure with a strong physical impact in the racket. It is therefore no surprise that Legname’s men return to the locker room with a comfortable lead (31-45)
Returning to the floor, despite a slight drop in offensive speed, the JDA continued to control the tempo of the match by hitting big shots at the appropriate time. Allan Dokossi is particularly visible during this third quarter by perfectly converting the offerings offered by his partners. On the other side of the floor, the players from the Cité des Ducs continue to muzzle the Cholet attack. The Burgundians therefore remain comfortably in control of the match to approach the last ten minutes (50-68).
In view of the scenario of the meeting, the last quarter will be a formality for Laurent Legname’s squad despite a big heat from the Choletais at long distance which will bring them back to around the 10 point mark. Allan Dokossi and Vitalis Chikoko showcase their interior qualities to cut off the locals’ comeback.
The Dijonnais had a slight scare but finished the match calmly thanks to yet another basket from Dokossi on a sublime serve from Chikoko. With this new success the players from the city of Dukes maintain hope and return to a small victory from the last qualifying place for the Playoffs. Note that Allan Dokossi had his best game of the season with a magnificent double/double (23 points and 11 rebounds).
Benjamin LEMOUSY
Cholet lost 79 to 88 against Dijon (15-19, 16-26, 19-23, 29-20)
Cholet : Sako (11) / Salaün (9) / Campbell (4) / De Sousa (6) / Hruban (5) / Goudou-Sinha (10) / Stevenson (16) / Ayayi (3) / Tillie (8) / Nzekwesi (7)
JDA Dijon : Holston (6) / Hunt (16) / Dokossi (23) / Ducoté (13) / Caver (8) / Oniangue (6) / Chikoko (11) / Obiese (5)
Passes:
Cholet: De Sousa (6) / Campbell (5) / Sako (3)
JDA Dijon: Hunt (6) / Caver (5) / Chikoko (4)
Rebounds:
Cholet: Sako (9) / Ayayi (4) / Tillie (3)
JDA Dijon: Dokossi (11) / Chikoko (4) / Caver (3)
: JDA Dijon plays its basketball in Cholet and maintains a tiny hope for the Playoffs){kind=link}