Bourg held the hosts below 70 points, hit 10 three-pointers on 43.5% shooting, and outrebounded Aris by 13.
'Very good' Bourg impressed in Thessaloniki
Articolo
3 Minuto di lettura
Regular Season
Round 16 of 18
Regular Season
group b
Aris Midea ThessalonikiARI
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Mincidelice JL Bourg en BresseJLB
group b
Overview
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Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse still has first place in Group B in its own hands following a 68-76 road win over Aris Midea Thessaloniki on Wednesday night, a game in which the French side never trailed.
After the final buzzer, Aris head coach Ioannis Kastritis praised Bourg, calling the visitors a "very, very good team."
"They run a lot, they shoot with confidence, they crash the boards and go for every offensive rebound," Kastritis added.
The stats went the way of Bourg
All of that was on display in this contest, as Bourg shot 10-of-23 from long range, with six different players sinking at least 1 three-pointer.
Bourg also pulled down 13 more rebounds than Aris, with the hosts grabbing 27 compared to 40 for Bourg. That tally for Bourg included 15 offensive rebounds, 9 of which came in the second half.
That all helped Bourg never fall behind in this game. The visitors built a 13-point margin, 14-27, in the second quarter and even though Aris erased that deficit, the hosts never held a lead in this contest.
Another great performance by Risacher
The star of the night was the 18-year-old Zaccharie Risacher, who dropped 20 points, 2 shy of his career high. He made 4-of-6 two-pointers and 3-of-4 threes. He was also Bourg's only scorer in double figures on a night when the team's defense held its opponent below 70 points for the first time since Round 11.
"Defensively, we played very good," Bourg head coach Frederic Fauthoux noted. "In this arena, in this atmosphere, it is fantastic."
Last season, Bourg lost six of its last seven regular-season games before being ousted in the eighthfinals by Promithes Patras.
Now, after this win, Bourg is 13-3 and sits alone in first place in Group B.
"We are first, and we want to stay first. We have two games left," Coach Fauthoux stated.
With just one win, Bourg will secure home-court advantage in the quarterfinals, and winning out will give Bourg a home-court advantage in any series all the way to EuroCup Finals.
Next week, Bourg travels to the Turkish capital to face the red-hot playoff-chasing Turk Telekom Ankara, before closing out the regular season on its home floor against playoff-bound ratiopharm Ulm.