2020-21Regular SeasonRound 7
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 86
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 88
November 05, 2020 CET: 20:30
Local time: 20:30 BUESA ARENA

ASVEL leaves Vitoria with first win

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne grabbed its first win of the EuroLeague season by topping TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 86-88 at Buesa Arena on Thursday. ASVEL improved to 1-3 in the standings while Baskonia dropped to 2-3. Moustapha Fall led the winners with 19 points, Charles Kahudi and Antoine Diot each added 15 and Norris Cole had 10 for ASVEL, which became the first team to win in Vitoria-Gasteiz since 1985. Diot also dished 7 assists for the winners. Tonye Jekiri led Baskonia with 23 points against his former team. Pierria Henry added 20, Luca Vildoza scored 11 and Achille Polonara grabbed 10 rebounds for the hosts.

Diot got ASVEL going with a jumper and David Lighty added a driving layup, but Jekiri singlehandedly put Baskonia in charge, 5-4. Moustapha Fall and Rokas Geidraitis traded dunks and Diot struck from downtown, igniting a 0-7 run that Allerik Freeman capped with a jumper with a 7-14 ASVEL lead. Giedraitis and Dragic rescued Baskonia but Cole scored in penetration and Kevarrius Hayes followed a reverse layup with a jumper for a 16-22 ASVEL lead. Henry downed a jumper and Ilimane Diop added an alley-oop slam but Cole restored a 20-26 ASVEL edge after 10 minutes. Amine Noua scored down low early in the second quarter but Dragic and Henry kept the hosts within 25-30. Diot sank his second triple and Noua soon added a layup-plus-foul that made it a double-digit game, 27-38. Jekiri and Moustapha Dunk exchanged dunks but Vildoza struck twice from beyond the arc and Henry added another one in a 14-0 run that put Baskonia ahead, 43-40. Diot buried a three-pointer to tie it, 43-43, at halftime.

Kahudi downed a three-pointer soon after the break and Moustapha Fall added a dunk-and-foul for a 43-50 ASVEL lead. Henry scored in penetration and Jekiri added consecutive baskets, but Lighty took over with a coast-to-coast layup, Kahudi scored again and Fall provided a highlight with a reverse slam for a 49-58 ASVEL margin. Dragic and Diop buried back-to-back three-pointers and got help from Alec Peters to bring Baskonia within 61-62. Ismael Bako and Cole gave ASVEL fresh air at 61-66 through three quarters. Polonara found his first points early in the fourth quarter and Henry added a layup to make it 66-68. Kahudi rescued ASVEL with 4 quick points and Moustapha Fall added a dunk-and-foul that boosted his team's lead to 66-75. William Howard capped a 0-9 run with a layup. Jekiri answered to bring Baskonia within 71-77. Howard scored again, but Vildoza and Giedraitis gave Baskonia hope at 75-79 with 3 minutes left. Diot downed a big triple, but Henry brought the hosts even closer, 79-82. Jekiri dunked and Henry added a layup but Moustapha Fall scored twice in the paint for an 83-86 ASVEL lead with 22.4 seconds left. Vildoza went for a quick layup and Baskonia fouled on Kahudi, who made the resulting free throws for an 85-88 ASVEL lead. Vildoza went to the foul line with 2.5 seconds and intentionally missed his second attempt, but Diot grabbed the rebound to seal the win.

Pivotal performer

Moustapha Fall was a dominant force in the paint, giving ASVEL the balance required to challenge Baskonia at Buesa Arena and eventually win. He finished the game with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting plus 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 6 fouls drawn for a PIR of 28.

Game-changing moment

A layup by Pierria Henry brought Baskonia within 66-68 early in the fourth quarter. ASVEL found a go-to guy in Charles Kahudi, who scored the first 4 points in a 0-9 run in which Moustapha Fall had a dunk-and-foul and William Howard added a fastbreak layup. ASVEL got a double-digit margin, 66-77, and kept control of the game until the end.

Stellar stat

Two-point shots were the main difference in this game. Both teams made 27 two-point shots, but ASVEL only needed 40 attempts (67.5%) and Baskonia required 50 shots (54%). It was ASVEL's best two-point shooting percentage this season and its fifth-best mark in EuroLeague action. Its record is 72.7% (24 of 33) against Khimki Moscow Region on December 26, 2019.

Did you know?

ASVEL became the first French team to win in Vitoria-Gasteiz in over 35 years. Baskonia's only previous home loss against a French team also came against ASVEL, 84-94, in the 1985-86 Korac Cup second round on October 30, 1985. Current Baskonia president Josean Querejeta and Real Madrid head coach Pablo Laso, who was 18 back then, scored 10 points apiece in that game. Baskonia had registered 16 consecutive wins against French teams since that loss.

Next game

Both teams return to EuroLeague action next week. Baskonia visits CSKA Moscow, which features four former players - including power forward Toko Shengelia - on Thursday, November 12. A day later, ASVEL hosts Zenit St Petersburg.

Charles Kahudi - LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne - EB20
Thursday, November 5, 2020
Euroleague.net
Referees: LOTTERMOSER, ROBERT; GKONTAS, SPIROS; MAJKIC, MARIO
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz20231825
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne26172322
End of Quarter1234
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz20436186
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne26436688
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 RAIESTE, SANDER DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3 VILDOZA, LUCA 26:24 13 3/8 2/6 1/2   1 1 4 1     1 2 3 9
5 JEKIRI, TONYE 24:11 21 8/11   5/6 1 6 7 2     2   1 4 31
7 HENRY, PIERRIA 32:51 20 7/11 1/2 3/3   3 3 6 4 4 1     6 31
8 SEDEKERSKIS, TADAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 DIOP, ILIMANE 12:51 7 1/4 1/1 2/2   2 2 1   2   1 3 1 2
19 FALL, YOUSSOUPHA 2:40 2 1/2           1   1     2 1  
25 PETERS, ALEC 12:50 3 1/3 0/1 1/2 1 1 2 1 1     1 3 2 1
30 DRAGIC, ZORAN 16:48 12 2/3 1/2 5/8   1 1 1   1     3 5 10
31 GIEDRAITIS, ROKAS 30:52 6 3/5 0/2     2 2 1           2 7
33 POLONARA, ACHILLE 35:11 2 1/3 0/1   2 8 10 1 1       3 1 9
47 KURUCS, ARTURS 5:22               1         2   -1
Team           2   2               2
Totals 200:00 86 27/50 5/15 17/23 6 24 30 19 7 8 3 3 19 25 101
        54% 33.3% 73.9%
Head coach: IVANOVIC, DUSKO
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
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 FREEMAN, ALLERIK 18:51 4 1/2 0/2 2/2   3 3 4   2   1 2 1 4
5 KAHUDI, CHARLES 26:01 15 3/3 1/3 6/6 1 5 6   1 2     3 3 18
8 DIOT, ANTOINE 24:00 15 1/2 4/5 1/2 1 4 5 7 1 1 1 1 2 1 23
9 LOMAZS, RIHARDS 10:49 2 0/1   2/2       2   1     3 2 1
10 FALL, MOUSTAPHA 27:26 19 8/9   3/5   5 5 2   1 1   1 6 28
12 NOUA, AMINE 16:27 5 2/3 0/1 1/1 1 2 3     1 1 1 2 2 5
13 HAYES, KEVARRIUS 1:50 4 2/2   0/1           1     2 1 1
21 BAKO, ISMAEL 10:34 4 1/2   2/2 1 2 3           4 1 3
23 LIGHTY, DAVID 25:46 6 2/4 0/2 2/2   3 3     2     2 2 3
25 HOWARD, WILLIAM 15:55 4 2/3 0/1     2 2   3 1         6
30 COLE, NORRIS 22:21 10 5/9 0/4     1 1 6   1     4   4
32 STRAZEL, MATTHEW DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           1 1 2     1         1
Totals 200:00 88 27/40 5/18 19/23 5 28 33 21 5 14 3 3 25 19 97
        67.5% 27.8% 82.6%
Head coach: PARKER, TJ

Head Coaches

IVANOVIC, DUSKO
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
"In tonight's game, we didn't start to play as tough as we should. We allowed too many easy situations in the first half. We played much better defense in the second half, more aggressive, but we gave them too many advantages in the first half. I believe that the key tonight was our bad start with no soul, no spirit, no fight. For us, playing without all this is tough. We improved, but didn't manage to get a lead that allowed us to play a little bit more solid. We were tough in some parts of the game and had a chance to take the lead, but in key moments, when the game is decided, we missed a little bit of patience. We always have ups and downs and the start of the third quarter was like the start of the game, without the toughness and aggressiveness required to play EuroLeague."
PARKER, TJ
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne

"I think that the team made a great effort. A great effort. It has not been easy for us with this COVID situation, coming to Vitoria and getting a win. The guys really deserved it, they work hard every day in practice, so well-deserved."

"We had a good game overall. We were locked down defensively and this is not an easy team. They are a really, really good team, but our team has been practicing hard. We went through a lot of stuff and it was a well-deserved win. We fought all the way. I think that not many will come and win in Vitoria. Baskonia is always a good team, the Spanish League champion last year. For us, to come here and get our first win on the road is good with the schedule coming up with home games. It is a great win. Baskonia is not a weak team, it is a great team. We built a team to be competitive in the EuroLeague."

Players

DIOT, ANTOINE
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
"That's the most important thing, we played as team and that is why we won tonight. We are a good team and need to believe it. We need to trust each other on defense and offense. We did it tonight and with a win, it is better."
FALL, MOUSTAPHA
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
"My teammates put me in a good situation to be efficient, so I just tried to do my job."
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