By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Markus Howard scored 25 points, and Baskonia beat LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 111-75 in its last EuroLeague home game this season.
Thanks to this win, Baskonia improved to 14-19 while ASVEL dropped to 13 – 20. Both teams have long been eliminated from Play-In contention.
“The way we played, it’s a great feeling,” Howard said. “Everybody felt great about the result. It was a total team effort. The energy from start until the end. It showed in the final score. We owe everything to our fans. It was right to end this EuroLeague season here the way we did.”
Baskonia was hot from the get-go to take a 30-14 lead in the first quarter and simply never looked back. The hosts closed halftime up 62 – 34 and reached the 90-point mark before the end of the third period, crushing ASVEL 92-50.
ASVEL was unable to react enough to avoid a blowout defeat. Melvin Ajinca (16 points) and Theo Maledon (13 points) stood out from the French side.
“We just didn’t show up,” said ASVEL coach Pierric Poupet. “We weren’t ready, unfortunately. We have to move on. When you lose by so many points, everyone is guilty. There’s no need to analyze too much and find excuses.”
Apart from Howard, Chima Moneke had 14 points and five rebounds for Baskonia. Trent Forrest added 13 points plus five assists.
A confidence-giving win
“Our first half was close to perfect,” said Baskonia coach Pablo Laso. “Defensively, rebounding-wise, and we made shots, of course. When you make shots and then you do the rest well, it looks easier.”
“For sure, this win gives us a lot of confidence. Finishing the EuroLeague season at home the way we did,” Laso added. “It’s also something that makes us look out at ourselves in the mirror. To say that that we are able to play like this. We have a lot of games left in ACB, and we have to play the way we did tonight.”