The veteran guard recorded season-highs in points (18) and PIR (21) to lead ASVEL to an OT win
Edwin Jackson's big night helped ASVEL bounce back against ALBA
Having suffered a 29-point loss at home just two days before, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne was in big need of getting back on the right track. Even though the opponent in Round 22 was last-placed ALBA Berlin, and the game was at the Astroballe, the hosts knew it wasn’t going to be an easy task.
“It’s never easy to play a EuroLeague game, especially when you play back-to-back and you are tired,” Coach Pierric Poupet recognized right after the game. “And as I mentioned before the game, I believe ALBA is playing good now, and it’s not easy to match on their off-screen situations, they have many situations we are not used to playing defense against.”
Despite enjoying a 15-point advantage early in the second quarter and starting the last quarter ahead 80-72, ASVEL saw ALBA return to the game and send it to overtime with a three-pointer by Malte Delow that could have been even worse if the German guard had converted the extra free throw he had.
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ASVEL players managed to refresh their minds, though, and faced overtime with renovated energy. Theo Maledon got the hosts going with a bucket, Neil Sako added a free-throw and Edwin Jackson later showed up to nail a three-pointer that established a 91-86 advantage that ALBA could not fight back against.
Coming to this game, Jackson had missed 10 games out of 22, shooting a below-par 6-of-25 (24%) from behind the arc and finishing with double figures in scoring only twice. Indeed, he averaged just 1 point per game since Round 17.
“What a win for us, after some very disappointing games”, he celebrated. “I think it is a great way to bounce back. I mean, I was just, you know, down on myself after the injury and I decided to stop. You know, having negative energy, I needed to pick it up, especially defensively.”
But defense was not the only thing he provided. Against ALBA, Jackson finished with 18 points and a PIR of 21, which are season-highs in both categories. He also made 4 out of 5 triples as the best offensive weapon on his team and playing a key role in the win.
“Today my teammates found me to make open shots, but I got in the game defensively, we all did, and this is how we got a very precious win,” he added. “Looking from the side of the team, it was doing very good, you know, it's just you want to be a part of the success of the team.
“So, you got to put away your personal frustration to be able to help and I felt like the last couple of games I wasn't doing that, at least defensively, what I bring to the team. I know it's not my role to necessarily school points. It's a bonus when I do, but today, it was a great effort for the team and for myself.”