The EuroLeague veteran missed the whole second half due to a knock he picked up before the break
Thomas Heurtel, Glynn Watson step up as ASVEL overcomes Nando De Colo’s injury to beat Bayern
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 16 of 38
Regular Season
LDLC ASVEL VilleurbanneASV
7674
FC Bayern MunichBAY
Overview
w
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
A four-game losing streak had taken its toll on LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne’s morale, with the French side looking for a response on the court against another struggling side in FC Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
The game unfolded just as ASVEL hoped early on as the hosts started strong, with Nando De Colo netting back-to-back layups to give them an 8-4 lead.
That second bucket saw De Colo reach the 5,000-point mark in the EuroLeague, becoming only the second player to have achieved that milestone after Mike James, who is currently leading the all-time scoring charts.
A Bayern comeback allowed the guests to take a 15-22 lead after 10 minutes, but ASVEL held its opponent to just 16 points in the second quarter and secured a 42-38 cushion at halftime. That’s when his head coach and teammates were informed that De Colo was not going to feature in the second half due to an injury – a major blow for the hosts taking into account that he’s leading ASVEL in points scored, assists and steals so far this season.
To make matters worse, Bayern hit the ground running in the second half in its bid to end a six-game losing slide. The guests restricted ASVEL to just 9 points and ended the third quarter with a 0-11 surge, taking a 51-62 cushion into the fourth.
But ASVEL wouldn’t give up, with guards Thomas Heurtel and Glynn Watson stepping up big time to fill in for De Colo. The latter opened the closing quarter with a triple and netted another from deep before setting up Heurtel, who cut the difference to 63-68 midway through the fourth.
Stefan Jovic responded with back-to-back baskets, but Watson came to the fore by completing a three-point play that brought ASVEL within 69-72 with just over 3 minutes left. A steal by Watson led to an unsportsmanlike foul on Mbaye Ndiaye in transition before the ASVEL guard teed up Armel Traore for a triple that trimmed the deficit to 73-74.
Enter Heurtel, who showed ice in his veins by nailing a mid-range jumper from the elbow in front of Johannes Voigtmann with 24 seconds to go, putting ASVEL ahead 75-74.
Heurtel and Watson may have turned the game around by netting 4 and 9 crucial points respectively in the fourth quarter, but it was the team’s effort on the other end that clinched the victory. The French side tightened up its defense, forcing Bayern to tough shots, all of which were missed in the last four possessions.
In fact, this was the first time this season that ASVEL gave up fewer than 79 points, with the hosts holding Bayern to under 20 points in both the second and the fourth quarter.
“It’s all on the players’ effort,” head coach Pierric Poupet told EuroLeague TV after the game. “All the credit goes to them. I told you before the game that I trust my players and they believed in themselves, so that’s very important, especially after we lost Nando at halftime. We had great team effort, especially defensively. We kept believing in this win and then we got the crowd going. So, congratulations to my guys. I’m very proud of them tonight.”
Surrendering was never an option for ASVEL despite De Colo’s injury and Bayern’s solid start to the second half. Team effort and character were needed, with Heurtel and Watson covering for their captain by netting 15 and 14 points, respectively, while the defense was suffocating Bayern.
“We’re never going to lay down and quit,” Watson said post-game. “I think that all the guys are putting a lot of work for him [Coach Poupet] to trust in us. So, for sure we are not going to lay down and give up.”
ASVEL now boasts a 4-3 record at home, but they have failed to emulate that on the road, where they are yet to win a game.
The French side is set to play away at a struggling Olympiacos Piraeus on Friday. With their confidence boosted after Wednesday’s home victory, it remains to be seen if they’ll manage to pull off an upset on Greek soil.
