ASVEL beat Efes on the road for the first time this century, and was victorious away from Lyon for the third time in the last four road games
Tarik Black, perfect Nando De Colo stepped up for streak-breaking ASVEL
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Regular Season
Round 20 of 34
Group Regular Season
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LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne traveled to Istanbul shorthanded and facing a team that changed its head coach. ASVEL was also on the wrong end of a 20-point swing after going up 24-33 in the second quarter but finding itself 57-46 behind in the third.
However, none of that stopped the French side from rallying and registering a 76-82 win, sweeping Anadolu Efes Istanbul in the process.
“My guys have a big character,” ASVEL head coach Pierric Poupet said as he praised his players. “They had a great effort, and showed the spirit they have been showing from the very beginning of the season. It’s all on them. I want to congratulate them on believing we can do it, from the first minute to the last.”
The win was ASVEL’s first this century over Efes on the road and the first such in almost three decades, since 1997. It’s just another in a line of several streaks ASVEL has already broken this season, including a road win in the Serbian capital over Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and first-ever consecutive road wins in successive games.
Leading a comeback in this win were one Turkish Airlines EuroLeague legend and one unlikely veteran.
Nando De Colo shined with 16 points on perfect shooting. De Colo, a three-time EuroLeague champ, former EuroLeague MVP and the competition’s second-best scorer all-time, was 4 for 4 on three-pointers, 1 for 1 on two-pointers and 2 for 2 from the free-throw line. He also dished 4 assists.
“We tried to respect what Coach wants and try to move the ball as much as we can and try to find an open shot,” De Colo said. “And when you play with confidence, it’s easier.”
Meanwhile, 33-year-old big man Tarik Black, playing in his fifth EuroLeague season, had 15 points and 7 rebounds while playing 22:29 minutes, all season highs.
Each played scored just 2 points in the first half but dominated in the second. De Colo netted three triples in the final 4:30 of the third quarter, while Black scored 9 points in the fourth. The ASVEL center not only scored 7 points in the last 5 minutes, but his three field goals were the only made shots from the floor in that span.
“I think the offensive rebounds played a huge role in it," said Black, who pulled down 3 offensive boards but a pair in the final 2 minutes of the contest.
“I think my teammates trusting me and finding me in certain positions. I think we battled hard in the second half to come back and persevere, and get a win. I just so happen to get the points tonight, but we all know it can be anybody’s night,” Black explained.
He got a chance because ASVEL’s frontcourt was depleted with the absences of Joffrey Lauvergne, Mbaye Ndiaye and its team captain, forward Charles Kahudi.
“It is not easy to miss players, but we stayed together, and tonight we showed it,” De Colo commented. “We faced Efes as a team and never gave up, even down by 10.”
And while the duo dominated on offense, ASVEL as team stepped up defensively, not allowing a single field goal in the fourth quarter.
“We switched on every ball screen at the end, it disturbed them a little bit, especially their good ball-handlers: [Jordan] Nwora, Shane Larkin, [Elijah] Bryant. That was the game plan, and today and it worked,” Poupet said.
Black is a strong believer of putting in the work that, in the end, pays dividends.
“Do whatever it takes to help the team win,” Black explained. “We are shorthanded, but we still believe we can produce wins. You have to work hard, play hard, come out to win. We got the outcome we wanted tonight, but it is the culture and the ethic of work that let the result be the result.”
That approach has led ASVEL to a 9-11 record, two wins behind sixth-placed Paris Basketball.