the great start of ADA Blois was fatal to the Antibes Sharks

The holidays until January 3 will be good. The players and staff members will finally be able to take a breather after a fast-paced and successful start to the season, concluded Friday evening at the Jeu de Paume against the Antibes Sharks with a nice victory (98-87).

To be more precise, the Blésois will spend the New Year with thirteen successes in the league out of the eighteen matches played (which almost ensures their qualification for the Leaders Cup before the last day of the first leg on the floor of Boulazac on January 11), without forgetting the three victorious rounds in the Coupe de France, the competition with which the season will resume on January 7 with the reception of AS Monaco, neither more nor less than the team in the lead Euroleague.

“We are a team that needs to attack the opponent”

But before moving on, it was time for joy for David Morabito in this once again crowded Palm Game, who celebrated this fourth success in a row with dignity: “I am very satisfied with the guys' game against a big team in the division, who want to play one level above! »

A game that couldn't have started better with a one-sided first period where the Blésois did (almost) everything well. “We are a team that needs to attack the opponentrecalls Jacques Alingue. So, from the moment we attack offensively and defensively, we can set up our game which is quite fluid with a lot of rhythm and a ball that circulates. This is what allows us to have skill and be in steamroller mode to move to a twenty-point lead at half-time. »

Bathiste Tchouaffé, the Sharks fullback, could only see the damage afterwards: “We took on water against a team moving the ball well, riding a big three-pointer with Tim Vergiat who caught fire. » The swing of the match is indeed to the credit of the Olympic medalist (32-28 in the 12th^e then 50-31 at 17^e), already at 20 points at 17^e minute of play.

“Against Blois, it’s very difficult to come back”

An already decisive gap, as JD Jackson, the Antibes coach, confided: “My team cannot play with the ultimate urgency from the start and sinks with a lack of investment and intensity. And against Blois, it's very difficult to come back when they are ahead. We can't hope for anything by taking 59 points in one half, without stopping and without giving ourselves opportunities on the counterattack. It took us twenty-five minutes to understand that there was an emergency. Before, we played without rhythm. Against a team that won a lot by playing very quickly and finding euphoria in shots, we should have put a lot more impact in defense from the start, which we only managed to do at the end…”

Speaking of defense, this is a sector where the Blésois shone. With a choice of paid David Morabito: “We really wanted to control their backs because it was through them that everything happened, even if it meant exposing ourselves a little bit to other players, like Garlon Green in particular (18 points Friday night): and we did it well . »

Arbitration “complicated to understand”

It remained to maintain the advantage in the second period, without being scared like against Gries-Souffel a week earlier and numerous times since the start of this exercise. “We know that this has happened frequently this seasoncontinued Captain Alingue. We dominated in the first half and in the second we were pushed around by teams in reaction. But it's up to us to adapt. And we generally managed to do well against Antibes even if there was a little frustration with the refereeing. »

The idea is not to argue on the side of the ADA, but David Morabito had the same reading to read the second act. “As much as we had lost control a little at Gries, the second half was made difficult by the refereeing, which was complicated to understand and which, in my opinion, unbalanced our defensive aggressiveness. So, I spent my match counting the number of mistakes from my players, who were having trouble finding the right tone in their intensity. And obviously, when you're a player, it's human, you put in a little less because you say: “I would also like to stay on the pitch a little. ” »

This also corresponds to the more complicated third quarter, the only one won by the Antibois (21-28), during a match where the Blésois led from start to finish, to the delight of 2,750 supporters. to their cause.