Paris (AFP)
The basketball players of Lyon, reigning French champions (2019), opened the way to the quarter-finals of the Euroleague by winning against the Poles of Gdynia (79-76), while Basket Landes lost ahead of Galatasaray (78-59) compromising his chances.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and in order to limit team travel, the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) has decided to adapt its Euroleague formula.
Thus, the group phase has been reduced to two windows of one week each and meetings are relocated in sanitary bubbles.
The players of Asvel play this second part of the group stage in Prague and started off perfectly with a success against the Poles of Gdynia (79-76), carried by the Serbian Aleksandra Crvendakic (16 pts), the Canadian Nayo Raincock -Ekunwe (15) and Ingrid Tanqueray (14).
The gap was however smaller than that of the first leg in early December (89-57).
Valery Demory's players have three wins and one loss, a record identical to that of Fenerbahçe.
They could validate their ticket for the quarterfinals from Thursday in the event of victory against Prague (two wins, two losses), associated with a success of "Fener" against Gdynia.
For Basket Landes, a team where French legend Céline Dumerc is playing for a final season, the path to qualifying looks complicated, after the setback against Galatasaray (78-59), the second in the space of 24 hours, after the defeat Monday (89-63).
American winger Angel McCoughtry, double world (2010, 2014) and Olympic (2012, 2016) champion, struggled with her 26 points for Galatasaray.
Mont-de-Marsan, who is playing his first C1, has a record of one victory for three defeats, while Galatasaray has won two matches and lost two.
In this group, Sopron validated the first ticket for the quarterfinals thanks to his five victories in as many games, while Bourges has not won any of his three matches.
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