Stéphane Eberlin (Caen BC coach): “I saw a lot of good things. We knew we had to shake them up, it’s the top 6 and it’s full of experienced players. We had a difficult start, then we stopped. For me, we missed the mark a little before the break. We have situations to put them further and we are only +6 when we return to the locker room.
We lacked discipline in attack at the end of the match, by not taking the ball where it was needed, therefore taking bad shots and therefore not having the success we hoped for. Opposite, Green hit big shots. But I am proud of the players. We lost Marc-Eddy (Norelia) from the start (calf pain), Malela (Mutuale) was clearly weakened (hip). It was a real test, it was important to see how we reacted after Blois and we played eye to eye with Antibes.
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There are sequences where we are at +10, we announce patterns that are not executed and we find ourselves taking snack shots. Being disciplined for forty minutes is not easy, you have to learn it. In N1, you almost don’t need it. In Pro B, you have to because players like Green or Eito make you pay. We did not manage to maintain the necessary discipline in attack, while Antibes never panicked, even when trailing by two points.
But I remember a very positive evening: we know that we can play everyone at home. I saw better from Radshad (Davis) today. Kentan (Facey)? I said he was on cloud nine against Poitiers, he is a player who is used to scoring 10-12 points on average since the start of his career. We sometimes had difficulty getting the ball inside, he also played a lot in position 4 due to the injury to Marc-Eddy (Norelia).
We learn, it’s Pro B. We have to keep a lot of positives from this match. We can be disappointed because we feel that we are not far away. But we come across another category of players. Antoine (Eito), I knew him when we did the All Star Game, I had the chance to be an assistant. Eito and Green are Pro A level. For our part, after the performance in Blois, there are a lot of good things to remember. We are going to go to Saint-Chamond, it is not easy, and the reception of Nantes will be a 4-point match. »
Antoine Rojewski (back of Caen BC): “We lacked consistency and lucidity. We gave a lot in defense, found solutions in attack in the second and third quarter. We found a lot fewer solutions in attack at the end of the game.
It’s up to us to be more lucid about the purposes of the meeting. When we are at home, with the public, when we run and defend, we are capable of putting together great series. We took a slap in Blois, we needed to react at home. I think we did it, but only over three quarters. It’s a big team, with three players, we knew we had to be tough on men. We may have made a few too many mistakes. »
JD Jackson (Antibes coach): “At home, against Roanne, we experienced the scenario that this evening, starting strong before letting the opponent take the upper hand when we opened the bench. We had a very diligent second half, with adjustments and rotations which were rather winning. If we take three or four more throws, we can win by ten points, a little more quietly. But we managed the end of the match well, losing very few balls, putting them in great difficulty with our defense, which contested almost all the shots.
We knew that we would be facing a team that never gives up at home, often over-motivated by their home crowd. It’s never easy to manage. We are on a good run (now four wins in a row), the players understand their role better and better. The most important thing is to feel a soul in a team and that takes time. That the guys stand together, fight together, that’s more important than anything else.
Green (22 points) is one of our important weapons, we can play “small” with him. He was just on fire, we fed him well, Antoine (Eito) worked well for him. If we found ourselves trailing by ten points (37-27 after the break), it’s our fault: we know that we have a good team up front who are just asking for that. They started running, their attacking pace was impressive in the second quarter. We came back before the break, that was the main thing. In any case, we are all amazed by the quality of reception and this room in Caen. »
Antoine Eito (Antibes leader): “They thought too small here, when they built this room! We expected this atmosphere. Caen is a team that remains atypical in Pro B: they hope to obtain maintenance fairly quickly and play in the middle of the table, and it will always be super hard to play at home for many reasons. I am very happy with this victory. Not everyone was as expected, but we won by defending.
Basketball is a series sport, Caen gained confidence at one point. We were bad about our frustrations, towards ourselves and towards the referees. In this type of room, where the atmosphere can quickly rise, I sometimes use certain things. Like doing the throw-in very quickly after a basket conceded, to prevent the room from following too much. The people I gave places to were on the steps (laughs)! There is everything to do here. If they keep up quickly. »