French Pro A Playoffs Get Underway

 The French Pro A playoffs kicked on May 22nd with two games on tap. Strasbourg and ASVEL got on the board after posting wins in their quarterfinal matchups. Strasbourg completely destroyed Nanterre 83-56, setting a serious tone of what is to come. ASVEL also had a dominating performance against Le Mans. They came away with an 81-68 victory on the road to seize the homecourt advantage in the series. Regular season league leaders Monaco will face off against Pau-Lacq-Orthez, while Limoges will battle it out with Dijon later this evening.

Strasbourg vs. Nanterre 83-56

Strasbourg was unstoppable in this game. They rained down threes on their guests (10-of-25) and were relentless on offense. Nanterre was on the backfoot for much of the game and could not keep up. Led by the 17-point explosion of David Logan, Strasbourg would not be denied. Dee Bost added 14 points off the bench and helped propel Strasbourg in key spots in the game.

Nanterre was led by Jamar Wilson, who scored 13 points in 19 minutes. They will need to get their act together for the next game if they want a chance to advance to the semifinals.

Le Mans vs. ASVEL 68-81

ASVEL leaned on A.J. Slaughter and Justin Harper to provide the one-two punch on offense. Both players combined for 35 points. Slaughter knocked down four 3-point shots en route to his game-high 18 points, while Harper flirted with a double-double as he reeled nine rebounds for his team.

Justin Cobbs paced Le Mans with 14 points and five assists. Le Mans showed some promise in this game. They had a 31-26 rebounding advantage but committed too many turnovers and were also not careful with their choice and timing of fouls.

ASVEL’s upset now puts them in the driver’s seat, giving them a much-needed edge in order to proceed to the French Pro A semifinals.