Paris (AFP)
Four days after a home loss to the Red Star in Belgrade, Villeurbanne lost on Tuesday to Istanbul against Fenerbahçe 86 to 64, an eleventh defeat which takes them a little further from the dream of a top 8 in the Euroleague.
The Istanbul moment of the Villeurbannais will continue, since in four days a very large piece awaits the men of Zvezdan Mitrovic: a trip to the floor of the Efes Istanbul, finalist of the Euroleague last year and currently in the lead with only three losses in nineteen games.
Faced with the Yellow and Black of "Fener", pushed by their boiling public, the players of the Asvel did not exist, if we put aside an alarm clock in the middle of the third quarter, under the impulse of their captain Charles Kahudi, to return to 12 points (49-37, 25th).
But the evil was already faced with the three French internationals, Nando De Colo, Joffrey Lauvergne and Léo Westermann, a blue trident author of 24 points in total. De Colo ended the game with 16 points, the best scorer of the game with teammate Derrick Williams, delighting the 8,000 spectators at the Ulker Sports Arena.
The Fenerbahçe then resumed its march forward without trembling to chain a third success and display the same results as the Asvel (8 wins for 11 losses).
Struggling in the defensive phases, Kahudi's teammates also paid for the too rapid faults of his strong American winger Adreian Payne (three after eight minutes, the fourth in the middle of the third quarter).
The gap with eighth place, synonymous with qualification for the play-offs, is still a victory for Asvel on the Red Star, which receives the Lithuanians from Kaunas on Wednesday.
Friday, Asvel will face Efes Istanbul, the most regular formation since the start of the season with three defeats, one on the road to Athens against Panathinaikos in early November (86-70) and two at home, opening the Euroleague against Barça (74-64) and against CSKA Moscow, reigning European champion (81-80) at the end of December.
© 2020 AFP