“Me, I’m a little dead but no, Fos is not dead,” smiled Allan Dokossi, echoing the 39 minutes and 47 seconds spent on the Parsemain floor this Friday evening. One wonders where the young Provençal winger found all this energy, he who was the symbol of the Ditch team this Friday, magnificent in bravery, fighting spirit and self-sacrifice. Absolutely remarkable, both in commitment and statistics (20 points at 10/15, 12 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists and 1 against for 33 evaluation), only “rested” for 13 seconds, the Central African international however had the lucidity to carry out in the money-time the small actions which decide the course of a match: a rebound snatched in the arms of Ada Sané 85 seconds from the final buzzer or an interception in the hands of Gérald Ayayi in the last minute, when Élan Béarnais had the ball to get back in front.
“A big disappointment” for the Élan Béarnais
To tell the truth, seeing Pau-Lacq-Orthez come away with the victory would have been incredibly cruel for the BYers and, above all, not really deserved. But when the Pyrenees began to light from afar to suddenly drop the score from 65-57 to 67-68 in the 37th minute, the promoted saw the ghosts of November 6 dancing before his eyes. That evening, in the first leg, Rémi Giuitta’s men still led 60-47 in the 33rd minute but ultimately had to bow to the Brandon Jefferson festival in the money-time (74-76). Fortunately for them, Betclic ÉLITE’s top scorer was missing tonight. But in his absence, Élan Béarnais still had another largely viable option in the person of Justin Bibbins. Without necessarily being brilliant, the elf led his boat well (10 points at 3/7 and 4 assists) and the Palois seemed to have the talent necessary to win without shaking too much (41-34 at halftime). But, hit with the right hand in the 24th minute, the Californian had to resolve to abandon his own in turn. The beginning of the ordeal for the EBPLO…
Justin Bibbins’ injury exit marked the turning point of the game
(photo: Sebastien Grasset)
“Justin’s presence gave us reassurance,” noted Ada Sané. “Without him or Brandon, we didn’t have this foundation. “In fact, Pau-Lacq-Orthez then sank into approximation with 15 balls lost in the second half, including 9 in the third quarter alone. Without a professional leader, if he could have been the hero of money-time with a few clutch shots, Gérald Ayayi above all showed his limits (10 points at 3/8, 5 rebounds and 2 assists but 6 stray bullets). “He gave what he could”, qualified his teammate, however. “He’s young, he makes mistakes but you can’t blame him for much. More problematic, however, this lack of control spread to the whole team, Gregor Hrovat in the first place (4 lost balls in the second half) when he was expected as the one who was going to give a hand to the position 1, and the Béarnais did not know how to assume the status of immense favorite. “It’s clearly a setback”, let go of Sané. “Fos did what was necessary but it’s a game that we have to win every day. It’s a big disappointment in relation to our ranking and our ambitions. Thus, Pau leaves Le Mans, winner in Reims, to take fourth place alone.
The lesson of courage of the Fosséens, “exemplary”
A situation obviously always infinitely more enviable than that of Fos-Provence. Mathematically, the BYers are no more advanced than at the start of the day, always good last because of the new success of Le Portel, but this evening could well mark a turning point in the soap opera of their season. For the first time in an eternity, all the ingredients have been brought together to offer a great performance. Even at the break, the general impression was that the Mediterraneans were going to be too limited in number (seven professionals only, with the absences of McClain, Mipoka and Peacock) to impose themselves but that the content offered was finally of quality. In the end, Lasan Kromah’s teammates (16 points at 6/13 and 3 interceptions) were able to do better than an encouraging useless defeat, but apart from the circumstances and the exit of Bibbins, much of the credit goes to them. Like Bodian Massa, particularly impactful after the break and who had the merit this time of knowing how to stay mentally strong (14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks), or Sadio Doucouré, of course horribly clumsy (5 points at 1/8) but terribly motivated to do well, with, in addition, the personal desire for a little revenge to take on the club which had signed him at the start of the season.
Bodian Massa above Vitalis Chikoko, beautiful image symbol of the evening
(photo: Sebastien Grasset)
“We had the right mindset,” could applaud Rémi Giuitta. “We came back with a lot of defensive intensity and commitment. We were still very weak but I told the players that they were tired of having regrets. However, this evening, we showed real defensive solidarity and I really liked that. The players have been exemplary and that’s the face I like to see. Psychologically, it’s very important to beat a big guy. “Big team or not, it had above all become essential to win a match. Fos-sur-Mer remained on seven defeats in a row, including two extremely annoying against Cholet and Champagne Basket, and had won only one of its last eleven outings. A black series which led the BYers to last place and which had to be stopped before the February break. Beyond these accounting considerations, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen such enthusiasm at Parsemain. “We had to find pleasure and smiles,” agrees the Marseille technician. History also to prove that, even if the road remains arduous and steep, no, Fos-Provence is really not dead.
In Fos-sur-Mer,
