Villeurbanne (AFP)
Insufficient before half-time, Villeurbanne lost for the second time in the week 66 to 53, Friday in his room of the Astroballe against the Russian club Zénit Saint-Petersburg as part of the 8th day of Euroleague .
Wednesday, the champions of France, 16th in the standings with a victory for five defeats, had already been routed at home by the Red Star of Belgrade (89-68).
However, the Villeurbanne have regained the defensive virtues that they lacked against the Serbs.
However, they fell offensively on a very well organized Zénit formation.
The Rhone therefore struggled to get in a good position to shoot, especially in the first two lost quarters 12-11 and 16-10.
And when they were, they were too clumsy in their attempts (15 balls lost at half-time, 9/21 on shots at 2 points, 1/7 at three points)
The animation of the game was also faulty (15 balls lost at half-time).
TJ Parker's players nevertheless offered a good reaction after half-time under the leadership of Charles Kahudi (14 points), Moustapha Fall (10 pts) and David Lighty (10 pts) or Rihards Lomasz (8 pts), returning several times to three points.
If Zenit won by thirteen points, the Russian team, led by Will Thomas (14 pts), Alex Poythress and Mateusz Ponitka, respectively 12 and 9 points, especially worsened the gap in the last moments.
The +7 lead gained at half-time by Saint Petersburg, which climbs back to 10th place, was therefore decisive.
Asvel will face Alba Berlin, penultimate in the standings, on Wednesday in Germany, and host Olympiakos two days later.
© 2020 AFP