French Pro A QFinals: Strasbourg, Limoges 1-0
The French Pro A Playoffs have kicked off and both Strasbourg IG and Limoges CSP Elite have taken a 1-0 advantage in their respective match-ups. Strasbourg IG defeated ES Chalon-Sur-Saone 93-82, while Limoges CSP Elite mowed down ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne Basket 92-56. Both Strasbourg and Limoges finished the regular season ahead of the pack in the Pro A standings with identical 20-10 records and are the favorites to advance to the semi-finals. With defending champs JSF Nanterre out of the Playoff picture, teams are jockeying to lay claim to the title.
Strasbourg vs. Chalon, 93-82
Strasbourg won this game handily thanks to their superior rebounding and ball movement. An early burst of offense allowed them to come out of the first quarter with a 14-point lead, 30-16. Kris Joeseph and Erving Walker tried to bring down the lead to a more manageable level for Chalon. Some forced turnovers committed by Strasbourg which Chalon quickly converted to points on the board made an impact towards their cause. Chalon cut Strasbourg’s advantage to nine heading into halftime.
Strasbourg’s David Andersen and Antoine Diot were able to keep pace with Chalon’s push in the third period, not allowing their opponents much room to eat into their lead. Strasbourg maintained an eight-point edge as the game chimed in the final twelve minutes of regulation. Strasbourg found more and better easy baskets in the game and they held on to win it all, stretching the to 11 at the final horn.
Diot and Andersen led Strasbourg’s offense with 18 and 17 points respectively. Jeremy Leloup chipped in 14 points of the bench, while Romain Duport and Marvis Thornton both scored 13.
Limoges vs. ASVEL, 92-56
This game was a romp by Limoges from start to finish. They started off the game with a commanding 12-point lead after the first quarter and did not look back. ASVEL could not get their offense going, they shot a horrible 19-60 from the field (31.7%). Limoges’ stingy defense (7-1 steals advantage) also played a role in their easy win, giving them easy baskets in transition.
Uche Nsonwu-Amadi was the lone bright spot for ASVEL offense, managing to score 10 points. On the other hand, Limoges had five of their players crack the double digit scoring mark. Nobel Boungou Colo and J.R. Reynolds led the team with 18 points each. Adrien Moerman was one rebound shy of a double-double with 14 points and 9 boards, while Alex Acker did an excellent job quarterbacking the team with 13 points and 7 assists.