The 38-year-old superstar guard led ASVEL past Paris with a supreme clutch performance
Nando De Colo turns back the clock... again
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 19 of 38
Regular Season
LDLC ASVEL VilleurbanneASV
9489
Paris BasketballPBB
Overview
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There was a lot of anticipation before the game between LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and Paris Basketball. Last season, ASVEL downed Paris 98-93 at home to stop the guests' historic 10-game winning streak. Both teams have changed a lot from one year to another but ASVEL did it again, outgunning Paris 94-89 at LDLC Arena on Tuesday night.
With the game on the line, Nando De Colo made sure that ASVEL registered its sixth win of the EuroLeague season. It was also ASVEL's fifth home win in the last six games.
Bodian Massa tied it with a put-back layup, 74-74, and right after that, it was time for De Colo to make the difference in the game. He grabbed an offensive rebound, got the ball back from Thomas Heurtel and nailed a catch-and-shoot three-pointer from way downtown. Nadir Hifi managed to tie the game again, 77-77, before De Colo buried another big one from downtown, shooting over center Momo Faye to put ASVEL in charge for good.
A red-hot De Colo was far from being done. He followed Shaquille Harrison's reverse layup with a third three-pointer, wide open from the left wing. Already in the final minute, De Colo was triple-teamed and found Glynn Watson for another triple, good for an 88-81 ASVEL lead with 36.4 seconds left. Paris never gave up but was never within striking distance, as Watson and Heurtel kept the hosts safe from the foul line.
De Colo needed just 21 minutes to finish the game with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 fouls drawn and a PIR of 24. Watson had a career-high 28 points.
ASVEL outrebounded Paris 50-38. Those 50 rebounds tie the club's record in the competition; it previously pulled down 50 boards in a 70-68 home win over CSKA Moscow on October 27, 2021. ASVEL had 23 offensive rebounds, a new club record and the third-best mark in the EuroLeague this season. Zalgiris Kaunas had 25 offensive rebounds in a 95-78 road loss against Olympiacos Pireaus in Round 10, and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade pulled down 24 in a 92-99 road victory over Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv.
"It's a great win. We are in a good rhythm right now, especially in the EuroLeague, so it's great. We know nothing is easy for us during the season, but we keep fighting and tonight, I think we see the team Pierric [Poupet, ASVEL coach] wants to see on the court. It wasn't perfect, but at the end we got the win because we did it together," De Colo said after the game.
"I think we did everything together when it was tough. They were up five, eight, 10, but we kept our rhythm. We kept our focus. This was the main word on the board. And I think this makes the difference."
At age 38, De Colo is averaging 13.6 points with great shooting percentages (63.4% 2FG, 40.0% 3FG, 98.3% FT), 4.7 assists and a PIR of 17.8 in less than 21 minutes per night. In other words, he is proving that age is just a number.
As for ASVEL, it plays five of its next six games at home, which statistically is great news: Coach Poupet's team is on a 16-game road losing streak that dates back to last season. It hosts Real Madrid in Round 20 on January 6, 2026.
