By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne managed to pull back from a six-game skid and defeated Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 74-67on the road, in a rare Sunday Turkish Airlines EuroLeague meeting to make up for their Round 30 game, in front of 3000 fans in attendance.
With both teams out of the playoffs race, ASVEL (13-20) fought hard to bounce back before the end of the regular season and will look to end this season’s run on a positive note when they face CSKA in Moscow next week.
The French side dominated the perimeter with nearly 48% accuracy from the three-point line and had Norris Cole leading the way with 17 points. ASVEL pulled away with a 57-48 lead by the end of the third period and managed to retain its lead despite Maccabi’s comeback in the final minutes of the game.
Antoine Diot fired 3/3 from the three-point line to add 9 points for TJ Parker’s squad and Guerschon Yabusele also added 9 points. and 10 rebounds.
“Defense has been our strength, When we play defense like that, we really did a good job, And offensively, we made good choices, a couple of guys made some good plays down the stretch. When the game is on the line, [Cole] is our go-to guy. Four fouls or not, I trust him. He’s not going to make a foul, he stays on the court”, said coach Parker after the game.
On the other end of the court, Maccabi (13-19) slipped its second straight game this week, following a Thursday loss to Crvena Zvezda on Thursday. Dragan Bender posted 15 points to lead all scorers for Giannis Sfairopoulos’ squad, Scottie Wilbekin and Tyler Dorsey added 14 each and Ante Ziziz tapped 12 points and 8 rebounds.
