Five days of break for Boulazac Basket Dordogne. Thanks to the international break, the BBD will take a breather. “Resumption Thursday or Sunday,” announces coach Alexandre Ménard. Sunday will be for the older ones.
This little week away from basketball is deserved: after his victory in Aix-Maurienne on Friday November 15, Boulazac is fourth, in contact with the other big guns, Orléans, Blois and Roanne. “It’s positive, we are in the leading car,” agrees Thomas Ville. The full-back has just extended his lease with the BBD until the end of the season, and has already internalized the Menardian leitmotif: “You never lose twice in a row. »
And above all, “when you lose,” notes your coach, “you never lose by more than three points.” For Antibes (69-72) and Roanne (89-88), the calculations are correct. Not for Caen (87-83), but not by much. Caen, the only bone across the Boulazacois gorge. “We’re going to bite our fingers for a little while,” whispers Ville.
Mbye performant
The victory in Aix-Maurienne perfectly reflected this first block of matches. “Sometimes we fight against ourselves, when fighting against others is enough,” smiles Ménard. The BBD has too often given hope to the Savoyards. “We went on a roller coaster, with big ups and big downs. If we’re not careful, we get punished. »
As in this third quarter, when Boulazac took more than 10 points in advance, before ending the period at -1. To redress the situation, each element reacted. Ville lined up the winning baskets, supported by Angelo Warner, Marcos Suka-Umu… faced with the Maurienne defense which cowered in its racket, in La Rochelle style, we had to take and return the shots.
Two things that the 2023-2024 BBD did not necessarily do, especially in the play-offs. “We made 14/29 at three points, that was the idea of recruitment,” analyzes Ménard.
In the racket, alongside the monstrous contribution of Ousman Krubally, Babacar Mbye delivered another solid performance, for his return from injury. “We see his potential, we are always behind him. He works well, with a mental metamorphosis. I’m the first to be hard on him. »
Mbye was valuable in the rebound, which was one of the key points in containing Maurienne. “We also had to stop losing balls. We have the faults of our qualities, we are playful. » This workshop will certainly be on the program for the resumption. Because “we would like to be in the top 4 at the end of the first legs. » Or January 11 and the reception in Blois; a place in the top 4 and the BBD would go to Leaders Cup Pro B.
The day in brief
Leader. Orléans took control of the championship, awaiting the Blois match at Chartres on Saturday November 16 (8 p.m.). Lamine Kebe’s group scored a sixth consecutive success, without trembling, on the Pau/Lacq/Orthez floor (68-78). For the ninth time this season, Orléans has exceeded 90 collective evaluation.
The slack. Things are less good in Antibes. Pulverized on the Vichy floor (93-64), Bathiste Tchouaffé’s partners lost twice in a row, after having already been heavily dominated by Poitiers, at home (59-77). The truce will perhaps do good for the Azuréens, who nevertheless remain in the leading pack.
The player. Dylan Affo Mama, trained in Boulazac, is having a blast in Roanne. In the victory against Hyères/Toulon (90-73), the winger scored 24 points at 9/12, took seven rebounds and signed two interceptions for an evaluation of 29. Affo Mama has clearly made his mark in the second division French, since leaving Dordogne. In Tours (2021-2022), he posted an evaluation of 14.1; 11.3 in Pau last season; and therefore 11 in Roanne since the start of the season.
