Paris (AFP)
After encouraging performances against top names in this Euroleague, Villeurbanne was able to measure the gap between him and the European top tier on Friday, defeated 76-62 on the floor of Bayern Munich.
Hopes born of victories against Barcelona and Panathinaikos followed by narrow defeats in Madrid last Friday and Istanbul on Tuesday were showered by Munich's offensive armada, which saw four players surpass nine points.
The trips to Bavaria follow each other and are similar for Asvel, torpedoed 104-63 last season, and who quickly understood that the evening would be complicated, after an 8-0 conceded from the start.
Absent in the racket, clumsy at three points with a 2/10 in the first half, losing too many balls, the Villeurbannes experienced a nightmarish start to the match.
The gap quickly widened: 9 points behind after a quarter, 17 at halftime, the addition could have been much heavier in the end without a reorganization requested in the locker room by coach TJ Parker .
As in Istanbul, where it had also sunk in the second quarter, Asvel came back better organized after the break, managing to level the playing field with its evening opponents, and even winning the last two quarters.
But the Villeurbanne have never really found the solution to stop the teammates of the American pivot Jalen Reynolds, author of a double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds).
If the evening is to be forgotten for TJ Parker, he can nevertheless be satisfied with the new good defensive performance of Kevarrius Hayes, strong in the racket three days after signing a reference match against Efes Istanbul.
More worrying, the failed match of the American leader Norris Cole, who did not weigh enough on the meeting, counting only 5 points in nearly 20 minutes on the floor.
Stuck in a disappointing 17th place with three victories in 12 games, the Villeurbannes must quickly return to victory in the next two matches, more affordable against Maccabi Tel-Aviv (12th) on Wednesday and especially against BC Khimki Moscow, the last one, Next Friday, before the reception of the leader, CSKA Moscow, on December 22.
© 2020 AFP