Paris (AFP)
Villeurbanne won in Belgrade on the floor of the Red Star 81 to 78, on behalf of the 23rd day of the men's Euroleague, and thus confirms his good form at the moment, in the queen competition of European basketball.
TJ Parker's players have won four of their last five Euroleague matches and have a third straight win with a victory in Belgrade.
As a result of the standings, they go back to 14th place, with a record of 9 wins for 14 losses, a victory for the duo Vitoria and Maccabi Tel Aviv (10 wins).
Asvel is four successes from Fenerbahçe (13 v.-10 losses), the Istanbul club occupying 8th place in the Euroleague synonymous with play-offs from mid-April.
Friday night in Serbia, the Villeurbannes managed to keep their few points ahead in the last minutes, which they had not managed to do against the Greeks of Olympiakos two weeks ago (loss in overtime after having led by three points within seconds of the buzzer).
"It was a complicated game, but we expected it. We were up to the challenge. It's nice to play this kind of game. We wanted to assume our physical side at the end of the game, to be more aggressive. In the first half we played superbly well, ”said American Norris Cole, named man of the match.
The 32-year-old playmaker, NBA champion with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, scored 22 points, leading the game.
With his teammates, he resisted the return of the Red Star during the third quarter, the Serbs carried by Corey Walden and Ognjen Dobric, authors of 17 points each.
"We continued to fight. Winning on the road is always a big challenge. Every time we won, our defense was at its best", commented Antoine Diot, all smiles and satisfied with the sequence of this month of January of Asvel in C1.
Asvel will play three matches in February against teams from the top 5 of the Euroleague: the reception of Milan (3rd, 15v.-7d.) At Astroballe in seven days and Bayern Munich (5th, 14v.- 9d.) On February 19, and finally a trip to the floor of the leader of the Euroleague, FC Barcelona (17v.-6d.) On February 26.
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