Basketball: the step was too high, Bourges eliminated by Mersin at the gates of the Euroleague

Europe 1 with AFP 23:11 p.m., March 22, 2023

The basketball players of Bourges lost heavily Wednesday in the support game of the quarterfinals of the Euroleague on the floor of the Turks of Mersin (91-63) and are eliminated at the gates of the Final Four. Dominated in all compartments of the game, the Berruyères were no match for a very strong Turkish team and will not find the last four of the queen of European competitions, who has been fleeing them since the 2013-2014 season.

The Tango had offered themselves the right to dream by winning at home (76-75) in the return match during a successful match where they had been able to contain Mersin, who had finished in first place in their group at the end of the group stage. While they had the objective of "creating doubt" in the Turks, great favorites of the confrontation, the beginning of the match was up to the expectations of the Berruyer coach Olivier Lafargue. His players made a perfect start: aggressive, dexterous, their quick attacks wreaked havoc on the Turkish defense. After five minutes of play, their commitment, combined with the opponent's errors (1/7 shooting), allowed them to lead 12-3.

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The Gray show

But the Turkish armada and its players passed by the WNBA then put their game in place, without leaving any chance to the Tangos, powerless as in the first leg, largely lost (84-56). Tokyo Olympic champion and two-time North American league champion Chelsea Gray got her hands on the match, to stun Bourges. The point guard martyred the French, chaining baskets and decisive actions, so that by halftime, she had already accumulated 19 points, five rebounds and six assists.

Mersin logically broke away, then flew away, in the wake of his star against whom Olivier Lafargue's players never found the solution, led by 13 points at the break. The Berruyères, victorious of the Eurocup 2022, were not more dangerous after the rest, head under water in the face of the Turkish demonstration. The usual artificers of Bourges, Alix Duchet and Yvonne Anderson, did not manage to exist, far from the beautiful performance they had delivered at the Prado. They scored only eight points each, with four balls lost by the Serb.

For his part, Gray continued his demolition of the Berruyer building, finishing the game with 27 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, for a final rating of 35. The Tango, winner of the Euroleague in 1997, 1998 and 2001, misses the boat in the absence of the Russian teams, excluded from European competitions because of the invasion of Ukraine, which regularly dominated the places in the last square. Mersin joined Fenerbahçe, another Turkish club, already qualified after Game 2.