Debutant ASVEL beats Zvezda for first-ever win at ANGT Finals

U18 LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne made history to start the 2021 Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals by collecting a 68-83 victory over U18 Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade for the club’s first-ever win in the competition. The debutant ASVEL used a 6-24 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to take control of the Group A encounter over the 2014 U18 continental champion Zvezda. Francois Wimbaut came off the bench to lead ASVEL in scoring with 15 points to go with 6 rebounds and 3 steals while Kymany Houinsou scored all 13 of his points in the second half. Kenny Kasiama added 12 points and Killian Malwaya chipped in 11. Zvezda was led by Filip Brankovic and Nikola Saranovic, who both tallied 14 points and 5 rebounds in the loss and Vladimir Pavlovic contributed 11 points and 5 assists.

Brankovic completed a three-point play for the first points of the 2021 ANGT Finals for Zvezda and Malwaya scored ASVEL’s first points at the other end - the first tally for the club in Finals history. ASVEL went nearly 4 minutes without a score as Zvezda moved ahead 12-5. Wimbaut and Hugo Desseignet came of the ASVEL bench for 8 points to get within 16-13. Wimbaut added 5 more points, but Zvezda led 23-20 after 10 minutes. Zvezda twice had 5-0 runs early in the second quarter for a 35-27 advantage. Noah Manet hit a three-pointer and Malwaya converted an and-one as ASVEL knotted the game at 37-37. At the other end, Saranovic knocked down a triple and the Serbian side was up 42-39 at the break.

ASVEL finally took its first lead on Houinsou’s first points of the game, 43-45. Four lead changes followed after which ASVEL took charge of the game with Noah Manet and Zaccarier Risacher draining triples in a 2-14 run over 5 minutes for a 50-61 advantage, which was 52-63 after 30 minutes. ASVEL continued its surge in the fourth quarter, opening the frame with a 2-8 spurt to go up 54-71. Zvezda managed 5 straight points, but Houinsou put together a 0-6 run for the knockout punch, 61-79, with less than 3 minutes to play.