After losing its first six games at its new home, the French side downed Milan in Round 27
ASVEL finally tastes victory at LDLC Arena
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 27 of 34
Group Regular Season
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LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne had tasted defeat in three straight games before the break, but it got back on track in Round 27 by beating EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 81-77 and recording its first-ever win at the brand-new LDLC Arena.
Inspired by an outstanding Joffrey Lauvergne, who netted 12 first-half points having gone 6-for-6 from inside, ASVEL took a 39-35 lead into the second half. The third quarter was balanced, with the hosts narrowly outscoring Milan 23-21, but in the opening stages of the closing quarter ASVEL’s defense stepped up.
A tense ending… before elation
The French side held Milan to just 3 points for the first six minutes of the final period and took a 76-59 lead with 4:39 left on the clock. When everything indicated that ASVEL would clinch a comfortable victory, the Italian team fought back and managed to cut the difference to three points with 14 seconds to go.
However, Maodo Lo missed an open triple to send the game to overtime, allowing the fans to get off their seats and celebrate ASVEL’s first victory at LDLC Arena after six unsuccessful attempts.
“We won the game and everybody is super happy,” Lauvergne said after the game. “First win in this gym. It’s an amazing feeling. I’m proud of the fact that we keep fighting. We may be disappointing people sometimes, but overall we fight and we do everything possible to win games. Like tonight, we never gave up.”
ASVEL inaugurated the new arena with an incredible clash against FC Bayern Munich in Round 10. The game went to double overtime, with the guests securing a 100-101 victory. What followed was five losses in a row, including a narrow 76-77 defeat to EuroLeague leader Real Madrid.
“We lost a few times by one point here,” Lauvergne added. “One time [we lost] after two overtimes, so now it’s a great feeling to win here.”
ASVEL may have missed out on the playoffs, but its players demonstrated on Friday night that they will put up a fight against any opponent in this last stretch of the season. Having received a huge boost in confidence with its win over Milan, ASVEL will travel to Greece next week to face Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens on March 8.