The French forward tied his career-high with a PIR of 34 in holding off the stubborn Chemnitz resistance
Axel Bouteille's steady performance guides Buducnost to fourth straight win
Maç Raporu
3 Dk okuma
Regular Season
Round 7 of 18
Regular Season
group b
NINERS ChemnitzNIN
7184
Buducnost VOLI PodgoricaBUD
group b
Overview
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"We knew it was going to be a hard game. Chemnitz plays very good basketball, fast, aggressive, and we tried to prepare for it well, knowing we were missing two players, so it was not easy to adjust," Buducnost VOLI Podgorica head coach Andrej Zakelj said to open the post-game press conference.
His words were tied to the absence, due to injury, of two of his most important players, Yogi Ferrell and James Thompson, who were unable to travel with the team to Chemnitz for Round 7 of the BKT Eurocup.
Zakelj and Buducnost found their answer in the figure of Axel Bouteille, who emerged from the bench to lead his team to the 71-84 win in what was an evenly matched contest in which neither side managed to break away by more than 7 points until the final stretch. At that crucial moment, three-pointers—one by Juwan Morgan and another by Bouteille himself—definitively ended Chemnitz's resistance.
"The game was close till the end, and I think we stuck together in offense and defense the whole game," Bouteille said. "We were up and down during the game, but we stuck together and made some big plays at the end."
Bouteille excelled in what every other player failed to deliver: consistency. In a game that saw almost a dozen lead changes, with no team or player able to take complete control, the French forward erupted for 26 points and 9 boards, contributing steadily throughout all four quarters.
He helped Buducnost with 9 points in the first period off the bench, added 4 in the second, provided 7 in the third, and 6 more in the fourth. He hit crucial three-pointers to push his team back in front 56-59 early in the fourth period and closed the circle with another one to confirm his team's lead at 71-76, entering the final stretch.
"It was a tough game; they are a physical team. They're athletic, they play for 40 minutes with high intensity. So, we tried to match that, and we got the win at the end," he celebrated. "It's basic, but we take one game at a time. It was a good one for us today on the road, and we'll see next game. But for sure, it's an important win for us."
Beyond Bouteille's scoring prowess, Buducnost leaned on another key factor in the fourth quarter, which both teams entered tied at 59: suffocating defense.
"I think [it was our] defense," Zakelj remarked. "I think [giving up just] 71 points is a good thing against Chemnitz, who is a team that flies, they play very fast with a lot of possessions. It's not easy [to stop them], you know. I think that was the difference."
In the final 10 minutes, Chemnitz went 1-of-11 from behind the arc and committed 6 turnovers, which allowed Buducnost to outscore its opponent 15-28 in that period and gave the fans traveling from Podgorica plenty of reasons to celebrate.
"These are the guys that are supporting us all season long. If they can come away, they are here," Zakelj praised. "And I have to thank them. Yeah, they are far from home, so it's not easy, but this court is not easy. This game was not easy to prepare for, but in the end, I think we won fairly."
This fourth consecutive victory solidifies Buducnost's position in Group B at 5-2, now just one win behind leader Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse and three games clear of seventh place, keeping them firmly in contention as the BKT Eurocup campaign unfolds.
