Euroleague | Maledon and Villeurbanne overthrow Vitoria

Trailing by eleven points five minutes from the end, Villeurbanne, led by Théo Maledon, won at the expense of the Spanish club Baskonia Vitoria 76 to 69, Friday at the Décines-Charpieu Arena, at the end of a match of the 4th day of the Euroleague.

With 25 points (6 rebounds, 3 assists), Maledon (23 years old), returned to Asvel this summer after four years in the NBA, was decisive in the success of his team which has a record of two victories and two defeats. on the European scene.

The Villeurbannais, undefeated in the French championship, started the match very well with an 8-0 start, a lead increased to +14 (20-6, 8th) to lead 20-10 at the end of the first quarter. Overall, Pierric Poupet’s men controlled the first half.

Led by Théo Maledon (9 points) and Neal Sako imperial in scoring (10 points, 14 in the final) and rebounds (7 rebounds, 12 in the final), the Rhone still had fourteen points in the 17th minute (34-20) before closing the first half with a comfortable lead of 12 units (38-26).

But Vitoria reacted very well in the third quarter during which Markus Howard (7 points), Donta Hall (13 pts, 15 in the end) and Chima Moneke (11 pts, 18 in the end) were driving forces, allowing the Basques to take the advantage for the first time 54-51 in the 30th minute just before the siren.

The match then seemed to turn in favor of Vitoria, finally dominating on the rebound and who quickly took an eleven point lead midway through the final quarter (67-56, 35th).

However, driven by Maledon, who scored eleven points in the last quarter alone, the Villeurbannais managed to reverse the trend to win by seven lengths.