Villeurbanne (AFP)

Asvel Lyon-Villeurbanne hardly won 87 to 79 at the expense of Bayern Munich on Friday in their Astroballe hall, after a match on the 25th day of the Euroleague which allows them to still believe in the qualification for the play-offs.

While the Rhone team had a lead of 18 points, Bayern, at the cost of a big reaction in the last quarter, managed to equalize (77-77) two minutes from the end before giving in.

This is the fifth consecutive victory for Asvel which beats its record of success in European competition with a total of eleven, for fourteen defeats.

For its part, Bayern, 5th in the standings, lost for the first time in three days.

This meeting opposed the two guest clubs of the Euroleague which should, both, in the coming weeks, be officially admitted as permanent members of the Euroleague.

If Bayern reasonably thinks of qualifying for the play-offs, Asvel, which goes back to 12th place, can also still consider it thanks to its good momentum observed since the beginning of the year 2021.

However, TJ Parker's team will have to negotiate an end to the regular season that seems difficult with six trips over the last nine days, including three in Russia where they will play against Khimki Moscow, Zenit Saint-Petersburg and CSKA.

For once, Asvel delivered a very good first period after which they led by nine points 44-35 (biggest gap in the match at half-time), a performance in the continuity of this that the Rhone team has been offering since January under the leadership of David Lighty or Moustapha Fall.

Lighty finished with a total of 19 points while Norris Cole (12 points), at the end of the game, also helped preserve the victory as well as Fall (15 points) while Guerschon Yabusele was also very important.

As in their last matches, Asvel also posted a positive ratio between assists (18) and stray balls (12).

If the champions of France lacked address at two points (44.7%), they were on the other hand efficient on outside shots (66.7%) and free throws (88.5%).

For its part, Bayern could have removed the decision under the leadership of Wade Baldwin (19 points) and Vladimir Lucic (18 points).

© 2021 AFP