Three victories bridging the new year gave way to consecutive losses as Germani Brescia fell to eighth place in advance of taking a 500-kilometer bus ride to face one of Group A's three leaders, Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse, on Tuesday.
The visitors had already lost to Bourg at home, so their prospects looked anything but rosy, as veteran forward Kenny Gabriel explained:
"We had nothing to lose. We just wanted to come out and play strong for 40 minutes. If we win, we win, and if we lose, we lose."
Nothing to win mean everything to gain, though, and after pushing all the right buttons throughout the game, Brescia went home with a 66-74 victory, its third on the road this season, and new life in the playoffs race.
The win coincided with U-BT Cluj-Napoca losing on Tuesday, giving Brescia more breathing room from the bottom of the standings. But the real takeaway was how the visitors handled Bourg, which has ridden high in Group A all season.
Mainly, Brescia did it with defense, obliterating Bourg on the boards with a 29-39 advantage, which included 4-10 on the offensive glass. Gabriel and Christian Burns had 7 rebounds each, but five of their teammates had at least 3 each.