Paris (AFP)
Not twice. Villeurbanne recovered on Saturday from its first defeat of the season in the French Championship by defeating Gravelines without a hitch after an offensive festival (103-86).
Despite the absence of the back Edwin Jackson, package for the meeting and the All Star Game because of the flu, the Asvel showed its firepower to the Astroballe against the dying Northerners, and returned to victory in Elite five days after being beaten (85-74) at Le Mans.
Villeurbanne thus avoids an additional hassle, before the reception on January 3 of Real Madrid in Euroleague, and remains at the top of the championship.
His opponent in the evening, Gravelines, remains in the fight not to descend and concedes his eighth consecutive defeat.
Hanging on at the start of the game, Asvel accelerated in the second quarter to lead by 13 points at the break, carried by its American pivot Adreian Payne, very successful on three-point shots (5 of 6).
Livio Jean-Charles and Ismael Bako scored 18 and 16 points respectively. To make up for Jackson's absence, Rihards Lomasz scored nine points and David Lighty ten.
For the Northerners, the major performance of the leader Benjamin Sene (27 points) and that of the American back Trey Lewis (21 points) will not have been enough and the club continues to sink towards relegation in Pro B.
Gravelines, 15th, is tied for points with relegables Roanne and Boulazac.
© 2019 AFP