He was one of his team's star performers in Round 9
Gach greatness boosts Bourg over Buducnost
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 9 of 18
Regular Season
group b
Cosea JL Bourg-en-BresseJLB
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Buducnost VOLI PodgoricaBUD
group b
Overview
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“I just tried to be aggressive from the beginning of the game,” said Both Gach. “The ball was going in the hoop tonight, so I’m happy about that.”
Talking over the sound of his chanting fans in his post-game interview on Friday night, the South Sudanese forward had good reason to be happy. His table-topping Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse team had overcome second-placed Buducnost VOLI Podgorica, 88-73 at Ekinox Arena.
In what could be a highly-important game come the end of the season, the teams went back and forth for the majority of the first half, with Buducnost hanging around until the hosts pulled away through Gach’s ferocious interior play. The visitors fought stubbornly, but every time they made ground, Bourg overwhelmed them offensively, eventually securing the 15-point victory.
Scoring a career-high 22 points and recording a career-best 30 PIR, Gach played the leading role for his team. The 26-year-old established the tempo by asserting himself down low before eventually expanding his range to beyond the arc, doing serious damage to a stretched Buducnost defense. Though pleased with his personal contribution, he attributed his success to the play of his teammates, especially on defense.
“For us, it’s about playing all 40 minutes,” Gach stated. “We knew what we needed to do on defense. We know we’re going to be scoring every night, that’s not a problem for us, but for us, it’s all about getting defensive stops, controlling on rebounds and winning those 50/50 plays. As a team, that’s what we did tonight.”
Gach also extended additional praise to Bourg's sixth man.
“The fans were loud and were cheering for us, they gave us the energy and that’s how we got the win.”
While acknowledging the standout performance, Gach’s head coach Frederic Fauthoux was quick to highlight the totality of the team’s effort, rather than singling anybody out.
“It was a great, great performance for him, but I don’t like to talk about just one guy,” said Fauthoux. “I praise the team and the team made a great difference together and that to me is most important.”
As mentioned, Bourg also found offense elsewhere. Darius McGhee put together an excellent performance, recording 18 points, 6 rebounds and 7 dimes. The home team shot 11 of 31 from beyond the arc, causing serious problems for the opposing defense. While not quite reaching the 101 points it scored last time out, it was certainly a good day at the office for the home team.
Buducnost’s Yogi Ferrell logged 18 in the loss, while Fletcher Magee added 12 points of his own. The result snaps a five-game winning streak for the Montenegrin team as it slips to third place with a record of 6-3. Despite losing to the league leaders, head coach Andrej Zakelj was less than impressed.
“I think we played too soft,” said Zakelj. “This is not the way we should look on the court. On offense, we played too much individual, too much selfish and that’s it.”
The disappointment is understood, but nobody can deny the strength of Bourg currently. Now holding an 8-1 record, the win extends its winning run to four and bolsters its home record to 4-0.
Bourg will host Dolomiti Energia Trento next Tuesday before Buducnost attempts to bounce back when it faces the London Lions the following evening.
