He stepped up big for his team in a do-or-die Game 3
Maksim Salash had a night he and Bourg will never forget
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All eyes were on Zaccharie Risacher heading into Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse’s win-or-go-home Game 3 clash against Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul on Wednesday night, yet it was his teammate, Maksim Salash, who walked away as the hero.
The first half was a pretty tight affair, with Bourg leading 44-41 at the break, but Salash played a vital role in fighting off a Besiktas comeback attempt in the third quarter before the French side went on to win by a whopping 26 points, 89-63.
With Bodian Massa having been ejected in the second quarter and Kevin Kokila in foul trouble early in the third, it was Salash who ensured that Bourg retained a threat inside, scoring 11 third-quarter points. He also played an important role in getting the Besiktas players to collect fouls, drawing three in the third period alone.
Come the end of the night, Salash had a game-high 19 points, matching the career high he set at ratiopharm Ulm in Round 9, in 19 minutes on the floor, in addition to 4 rebounds and 5 drawn fouls. Only Kokila (8) and JeQuan Lewis (6) drew more fouls than Salash from a Bourg perspective, and only Angel Delgado, who was ejected alongside Massa, could match his 5 from the Besiktas side of things.
Salash, playing in his rookie EuroCup season, has shown that he is more than capable of playing at this level over the course of the campaign, yet he still retains a team-first mentality, something that is commonplace among the Bourg players.
“I guess I had the hot hand today, but it doesn’t matter, it’s a team effort,” Salash said afterward. “Everybody scored today for our team, so that says a lot. Our bench is very big – everybody is playing and contributing for the win.”
A tough-looking finals series against Paris Basketball awaits, but with Salash playing at this sort of level – and many of his teammates contributing, too – Bourg will certainly fancy its chances.