2017-18Regular SeasonRound 5
November 08, 2017 CET: 20:00
Local time: 20:00 ASTROBALLE

Gran Canaria rolls over ASVEL away

Herbalife Gran Canaria made a strong move in Group D on Wednesday by storming host ASVEL Villeurbanne early and cruising to a 68-84 road win. The result put Gran Canaria among the group leaders at 3-2 halfway through the regular season and dropped ASVEL to 2-3. Marcus Eriksson hopped off Gran Canaria's bench to hit for 18 points. Ondrej Balvin ruled inside with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, followed closely by Eulis Baez with 11 and 9, respectively. Balvin and Baez led a 34-23 edge in rebounds for Gran Canaria. Albert Oliver chipped in 12 points and 6 assists for the winners. Charles Kahudi was the big gun for ASVEL with 15 points, while David Lighty was the other double-digit scorer, with 12.

Balvin fed Oriol Pauli and Gal Mekel scored on a steal as the visitors started strong. John Roberson dropped a finger roll to get ASVEL going, but Gran Canaria stormed to a 5-14 lead on back-to-back threes by Shaquielle McKissic. The visitors kept rolling with Balvin, Baez and Mekel scoring easily inside until the former's alley-oop dunk made it 8-24. Layups by David Lighty, Kahudi and DeMarcus Nelson revived ASVEL but Gran Canaria still led 14-26 after a quarter. An 8-0 run early in the second by Baez and Xavier Rabaseda quickly gave Gran Canaria its biggest lead, 18-35. Kahudi's three-pointer didn't slow the visitors as Eriksson's first soon made it 23-44. The best ASVEL could do was string a couple baskets together while Gran Canaria cruised to a 30-49 halftime lead.

Roberson started the second half with a triple, but Balvin remained formidable inside. Amine Noua's dunk helped ASVEL get as close as 40-53, but Oliver answered with a pair of three-pointers to restore a 20-point lead, 40-60. Alpha Kaba revived ASVEL before Kahudi drilled a corner triple. His put-back and Justin Harper's free throws cut the difference to 51-61. Eriksson quieted the crowd with a big three-pointer, but Lighty finished the third quarter with a three-point play to keep the hosts close, 54-65. Anzejs Pasecniks had two layups before A.J. Slaughter and Eriksson traded triples to open the fourth quarter. After that, Gran Canaria was content to have its defense mop up as the visitors were never threatened the rest of the way.

Marcus Eriksson - Herbalife Gran Canaria  (photo Asvel - infinity Nine Media - Arthur Viguier) - EC1744
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Eurocupbasketball.com
Referees: CHRISTODOULOU, CHRISTOS; PANTHER, ANNE; JURAS, MARKO
Attendance: 5462
By Quarter1234
ASVEL Villeurbanne14162414
Herbalife Gran Canaria26231619
End of Quarter1234
ASVEL Villeurbanne14305468
Herbalife Gran Canaria26496584
ASVEL Villeurbanne
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 MALEDON, THEO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5 KAHUDI, CHARLES 29:37 15 4/8 2/4 1/1 2 2 4 1 2 3 1   1 5 18
6 SLAUGHTER, AJ 27:41 9 1/1 2/8 1/2   1 1 3 2       3 2 7
7 KABA, ALPHA 18:36 8 4/4     2 2 4     1     5   6
12 NOUA, AMINE 19:06 2 1/3 0/1   1 1 2 1     1 1 3 2 1
17 BRIKI, SOFIANE DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
20 NELSON, DEMARCUS 21:57 6 3/10 0/2     2 2 4   2   1 2 1 -1
21 ROBERSON, JOHN 22:47 8 1/2 1/3 3/3   2 2 2 2 1     2 2 10
22 WATKINS, DARRYL 20:20 6 3/5   0/2 1 2 3 1   2   1 4 2 1
23 LIGHTY, DAVID 23:54 12 2/5 2/3 2/3 1 2 3 2 1 4 1   3 3 10
32 HARPER, JUSTIN 16:02 2 0/1   2/2 1 1 2 1   1     2 1 2
Team           1 1 2     2          
Totals 200:00 68 19/39 7/21 9/13 9 16 25 15 7 16 3 3 25 18 54
        48.7% 33.3% 69.2%
Head coach: JACKSON, JD
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Herbalife Gran Canaria
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 OLIVER, ALBERT 22:40 12 1/3 2/4 4/4       6 1       2 3 16
8 ERIKSSON, MARCUS 24:09 18 3/5 3/6 3/4           1     1 5 15
9 MEKEL, GAL 20:19 9 4/6 0/1 1/2       4 1 2     1 2 9
11 SEELEY, DENNIS 13:37 1 0/2 0/1 1/2   1 1 2   3     4 2 -5
12 BALVIN, ONDREJ 23:00 16 7/9   2/2 5 5 10     3 2   4 2 21
13 BAEZ, EULIS 30:20 11 4/5 0/1 3/4 4 5 9 5 1 1 1 1 2 5 25
14 PASECNIKS, ANZEJS 13:49 4 2/4 0/1   1 4 5         1 1 2 6
21 PAULI, ORIOL 14:16 4 2/2 0/1     1 1   1 2         3
22 RABASEDA, XAVIER 9:47 3 1/2   1/1   1 1 1 2     1 1 3 7
27 MCKISSIC, SHAQUIELLE 15:19 6 0/3 2/2     4 4     1     2 1 5
34 AGUILAR, PABLO 6:45   0/1             1            
40 FISCHER, LUKE 5:59   0/1       3 3     1     1    
Team           2 1 3     1         2
Totals 200:00 84 24/43 7/17 15/19 12 25 37 18 7 15 3 3 19 25 104
        55.8% 41.2% 78.9%
Head coach: CASIMIRO, LUIS

Head Coaches

JACKSON, JD
ASVEL Villeurbanne
"I'm very disappointed it's our first home loss of the season, and we just simply weren't ourselves. We were a team that didn't play with much rhythm or aggressiveness. And we let them take the rhythm and the confidence right away, and it's a good team. We wanted to start with really, really intense defense, build some confidence with the rhythm, take control of the tempo. It was exactly the contrary. And I think we really have to ask ourselves a few questions, because this was a bit of a problem on the road, and now it's become a problem tonight at home. If we don't play with aggressiveness, it's hard to find your confidence at this level. As I said before, they are probably the best team offensively in the ACB, so it won't take them long to hurt you, to get a lead, and to get confidence. So this is a lesson we have to learn quickly because we're starting to lose and losing some of our team confidence because of it, as well."
CASIMIRO, LUIS
Herbalife Gran Canaria
"We played very good defense, did good at rebounds, which let us dominate the rhythm of the game. It was a very good job. I'm happy for the team, for the win. For us, it was necessary to finish the first half of the regular season well."

Players

KAHUDI, CHARLES
ASVEL Villeurbanne
"It’s a tough night for us… We were dominated from the beginning of the game. It’s frustrating because it’s not our real face, we are not at our real level. We have to work, there is no other way. It’s a mistake in our process, now we have to find resources to react. "
ERIKSSON, MARCUS
Herbalife Gran Canaria
"We talked before the game that we have to come out 100 percent and play aggressive in both defense and offense. I think the first five players did that really good and then the guys who came from the bench just followed the starters. So it was a good game. We've been struggling a little bit on the road, playing away. This was a good win for us against ASVEL, which has good players and is a good team, so it was a big win for us."