Faced with the countries of the East, French clubs are often entitled to oppositions of styles. This Wednesday, January 12, 2022, the clash between Boulogne-Levallois and Lietkabelis Panevezys was no exception to the rule: 53 2-point shots attempted for the Metropolitans against 36 3-point attempts for the Lithuanian club.
The locals immediately took the advantage but Levallois made a 9-0 series with Will Cummings as main architect, certainly keen to make up for his bad end to the game against Roanne last weekend. Each with its own strengths, the two teams take the advantage in turn. If the offensive contribution of Will Cummings (16 points and 5 assists) and the defensive rigor of Tomer Ginat allow Levallois to hope to return at half-time with a score of parity, a rather improbable shot from the midfielder of Lipkevicius (9 points) gives Lietkabelis three lengths (47-44).
As against Andorra on the previous day, Boulogne-Levallois returns with better intentions from the locker room. What to pass an 11-0 (47-53) and to completely mute the Lithuanians who register their first basket only after 5 minutes of play in the third quarter. Subsequently, they will not miss anything or almost. The state of euphoria ahead of Nenad Canak’s men is previewed with yet another third period buzzer, again the work of Lipkevicius.
Of his eight attempts at 3pts in the final period, Lietkabelis will only miss one. Faced with this storm initiated in particular by Berzins (19 points including 5/9 at 3pts) and Giedraitis (top scorer with 25 units), Levallois does not abdicate. But the shots in the paint especially with Halilovic (28 evaluation) are worth less than attempts converted behind the arc and that is what will make the difference in this end of the match. Bandja Sy (5 points) maintains hope with one minute remaining with one of the few outside shots scored by the Mets (3/14 to 3pts in total). However, the Lithuanians do not crack and are so scary behind the arc that Radicevic takes the opportunity to end the hopes of the French by sneaking under the arch.
This defeat does not do the business of Ile-de-France, now located in 8th and last qualifying place in group A, tied with Lietkabelis (5th).
