The Italian side almost threw the win away, but it held on to record its fourth victory in a row
Milan escapes gutsy ASVEL fightback to earn crucial road win
Informes de partidos
3 Min lectura
Regular Season
Round 27 of 38
Regular Season
LDLC ASVEL VilleurbanneASV
7677
EA7 Emporio Armani MilanEA7
Overview
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“Whether it’s nasty, ugly or whatever, it doesn’t matter – a win is a win, especially on the road,” stated Armoni Brooks after his EA7 Emporio Armani Milan team staved off a hearty LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne comeback to win 76-77 on Friday night at LDLC Arena.
Though ASVEL came flying out of the blocks, earning a lead in the opening period through strong team offense, its Italian opponent was quick to push back, locking in on both ends to take a five-point advantage to the locker room at the half. Milan widened the margin to double digits in the third, but ASVEL came storming back in the final period, making it a one-point game with under a minute remaining.
The French team hustled hard to earn a chance to win the game with their its shot, but when the referees made their final review on a late dunk attempt by Mbaye Ndiaye, it was deemed that ASVEL came up just a point – and a millisecond – short.
With their third consecutive win, Peppe Poeta’s men earned a winning record of 14-13, putting themselves in a strong position to compete for a spot in the EuroLeague Playoffs. Despite the positive momentum, however, Milan’s coach isn’t getting ahead of himself just yet.
“We cannot look too far ahead; you have to look game by game,” Poeta said. “The EuroLeague is a tough beast and you cannot relax, not even one second, not against anybody, on the road, (at) home. Wherever you play, it’s a tough game.”
His team certainly did things the hard way, given their healthy third-quarter position, but Poeta was encouraged by the resilience they showed to get the job done.
“We can do that; we showed it many times. We just need to be more consistent for all 40 minutes, it’s all about that.”
Marko Guduric shone for Milan. Finishing the game with a PIR of 23, the Serbian guard added 7 assists to his 18-point scoring performance, which he earned at a clip of 7-for-11. The 30-year-old was buoyant after the buzzer, despite his team’s difficulties down the stretch.
“A big win for us to stay in the fight for the playoffs,” said Guduric. “ASVEL showed great character to come back. We started playing slow, but in the end it’s the win that’s important. Proud of the team, of the effort. There are a lot of things we can do better, but we’re on the right path.”
He couldn’t get it done alone. Quinn Ellis impressed, recording 13 points and 5 boards to help his edge his team over the line. Highlighting the offensive distribution, Armoni Brooks and Zach LeDay also scored in double digits on the night. Incredibly, the visitors finished the game with 14 more turnovers than the hosts and still came away with the all-important W.
Interior scoring was a key area of struggle for ASVEL, which was led by Braian Angola’s 23 points. Coach Pierric Poupet felt his team's lack of frontcourt shot-making was the big difference.
“We fought until the end, that’s the thing to keep in mind,” said Poupet. “We lacked presence inside today, they switched a lot on ball screens and we couldn’t hit a shot inside, in the first half especially. Unfortunately, things happen this way and we have to live with this. We have important games ahead. On to the next one. I’m proud of the character we showed.”
With the loss, ASVEL fell to 7-20 and will hope for a major reaction when it faces Valencia Basket next Thursday. Meanwhile, Milan will look to make it four in a row when it welcomes an in-form Dubai Basketball to Allianz Cloud in a week’s time.
