By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Without Nikola Mirotic, Shabazz Napier, Stefano Tonut, Billy Baron and Diego Flaccadori, Olimpia Milano couldn’t compete with LDLC ASVEL on the road in Villerubane.
After leading for most of the match in LDLC Arena, the French side emerged victorious with a final score of 81-77, grabbing only their sixth win of the EuroLeague season in Round 27.
Joffrey Lauvergne led the winning side with 17 points, Nando De Colo added 13, while Mike Scott finished the game with 12 points, scoring half in the crucial run of his team.
“We won the game and everybody is super happy,” Lauvergne said after the game. “First win in this gym. It’s an amazing feeling. I’m proud of the fact that we keep fighting. We may be disappointing people sometimes, but overall we fight and we do everything possible to win games. Like tonight, we never gave up.”
On the other side, Devon Hall was the top scorer with 19 points, Maodo Lo added 15, while Kyle Hines also finished in double digits with 11 points. Shavon Shields was on the verge of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
ASVEL took control in the final minutes of the first quarter, concluding it with a 12-3 run to establish a comfortable 22-13 lead after 10 minutes. They maintained their advantage, despite Olimpia Milano coming within one possession on couple occasions, and grabbed a 16-point deficit midway through the final period. However, Italian champions managed to find the strength for another push and cut ASVEL’s lead to just three points in the final minute, but the Villeurbanne side prevailed in the suddenly dramatic finish.
“Villeurbanne deserved to win”
The head coach of Olimpia Milano, Ettore Messina, tipped his hat to the opponent but also discussed the injury woes that have plagued his team since the beginning of the season.
“Villeurbanne deserved to win. For us, the crucial negative moment was between the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth period when we had to replace some players, and there the game slipped out of our control. It’s difficult to comment on a game like this. In the end, in the concluding minutes, we even played well and had a shot to tie. It was a good shot, Maodo Lo’s, unfortunately, it didn’t go in. This is a season in which we never had continuity, never had the same eight players leading the team, and consequently, individuals never had consistency in their play, and the team suffered as a result. That has been the story of this season so far,” Messina said.
Photo: euroleaguebasketball.net