True to form, the technician insisted on…
True to form, the technician insisted on the fact that there are “six matches” left to save the club, its professional status, its employees, many of whom risk losing their jobs, and also Périgord sport, which has only one only pro club. But are the Boulazacois capable of it? Some collapsed after the match, stunned, sad, dejected. The pressure is too much for some. Others don’t have the level.
Ineffective
Take Nana Foulland, the pivot. Faced with a hyper weak Norman team in the racket, the Ghanaian scored three small points in 16 minutes… Interior Jules Rambaut is missing, with 23 seconds of play, after not having played at all in Aix-Maurienne. “I have Olivier Cortale who is doing good things at the moment, explains Ménard. Jules came in once, he lost two balls; another time, three. »
Other players seem a bit overconfident. Arrogant at times. Ivan February thought he had done the hardest part with a reverse dunk late in the game. But the winger then missed an ultra-simple lay-up, wasted two free throws which resulted in a three-pointer for Rouen… Sometimes you have to know how to stay sober and efficient.
Efficiency is not what characterizes the Périgord defense. Yes, Rouen shone behind the arc. But still… The Normans have the 12th attack of the division. They slammed 50 points at the BBD in the first period. With almost no inner play.
“The instruction was to challenge their three-point shot”
The attack was not effective against Rouen’s permanent zone defense either. Even if Tchouaffé and Ménard explain that the 96 points scored show that it was, it should be noted that the BBD mainly benefited from the rare moments of fast play. On half-court, when the opponent is in place, this team does not know how to do.
Curious management
And then there is this management of the last possession of Rouen. Vytenis Cizauskas makes one out of two throws, the Normans go up the ball. There are a handful of seconds left, the BBD leads 96-94. The whole Palio expects a foul. But no. “We expected Vytenis to put in both shots,” explained Ménard. Who, obviously, is not yet aware of the great Boulazacoise tradition of feverishness on the repair line.
If the BBD had a three-point lead, the strategy would have been to foul. With two units, “the instruction was to challenge their three-point shot”. Doubly curious choice: Rouen was on fire on Saturday (19/40 behind the arc), and conceding two throws would have led to an extension, with the last ball in the Périgord hands and three Normans with four faults.
The “dispute” of the shot by Luc Loubaki was non-existent, Philmore scored and plunged the club into the unknown, towards a double demotion.
