The centers combined to devastating effect in Round 34
ASVEL’s twin towers Lauvergne, Fall were too much for Barcelona
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Regular Season
Round 34 of 34
Group Regular Season
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LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne showed it can beat great teams too as it finished its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague campaign with a 76-72 victory over FC Barcelona, thanks in large part to its twin tower duo of Joffrey Lauvergne and Youssoupha Fall.
Lauvergne led the way with 20 points and 5 rebounds and Fall tallied 15 points and 8 rebounds for ASVEL, which ended the season with a 9-25 record.
“We played well. It is crazy to have two guys like this. It’s unusual in modern basketball, but I enjoy it. [Fall] also had a huge game tonight,” said Lauvergne.
This was actually the biggest scoring game for Fall and Lauvergne this season, while it was the seventh time that both big men had scored in double figures, having previously done so in Rounds 5, 6, 11, 14, 29 and 31.
ASVEL's big men enjoy facing Barcelona
Round 11 was also against Barcelona – at Palau Blaugrana, to be precise – and had been the duo’s previous top combined scoring output. That night, Lauvergne had 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists and Fall picked up 15 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assists.
“[Barcelona] is a great team We did our best to finish the season the best way we could. It wasn’t easy, so we are all happy right now,” Fall commented.
The big men helped ASVEL win back-to-back games for just the second time this season, with the last occasion coming in Rounds 19 and 20.
“The gym was full – 12,000 people – so it was a great feeling. We played against one of the best teams in Europe,” Lauvergne added. “We knew we had nothing to play for in this game, but we knew the more games we win the happier people would be. We are really happy.”
Coach Pierric Poupet was also happy for his players, with the coach going 6-9 in his 15 games in charge.
“I am happy that we ended this EuroLeague season with a win in front of 12,000 people,” he stated. “The team deserves it and so do the fans that came out. We came back in the second half with the same fighting spirit and that helped us.”
So did having Lauvergne and Fall, ASVEL’s twin towers, come to the fore.