LThe Zen face of Julien Cortey at a press conference was worth all the speeches. The La Rochelle technician had just achieved the perfect shot in a copiously filled Dijon Sports Palace (4,400 spectators), and whose rise in decibels never seemed to disturb his troops. “This (Saturday) evening, it’s a big relief, we’re a little on cloud nine after the match,” the technician relished. “We work hard, and when you have five defeats, the weeks are long. Of course we learn from each match, but you have to learn quickly,” he added.
Laurent Legname had however warned his players that the videos from La Rochelle were worth much better than their results. His players did not heed the warning, and paid dearly for it. If the start is balanced, the Rochelais appear comfortable in attack, finding solutions in the wake of their US rear traction (Sessoms – Cheese), and Jubrile Belo inside. Barely 8 minutes into the game, and the Yellow and Black took a nice lead (16-24, 8th). On a new three-point basket from Tyler Cheese, La Rochelle has just inflicted 32 points on Dijon in ten minutes, when its average over a match until then was 62.8 points.
“We got off to a very good start, each of the players was committed. We knew how to have confidence, by having a better state of mind than in previous matches. The collective effort was very good. We don’t have a big budget, and it’s through the energy deployed that we will win matches,” confided the American guard, who completed the first act with 15 points and with his team still in the lead by six lengths. (45-51).
La Rochelle does not panic
After starting the 3rd quarter in reverse (51-64, 24th), Niziol slamming a dunk on the clearly upset Dijon, the JDA will however fight back. Holston finds the three-point target, Ware finally has success and McDuffie shows himself skillful, before a three-pointer to Julien’s delight, following a perfect passing game for the equalizer (66-66, 28th). Dijon even goes ahead for a short moment, but La Rochelle does not panic. “When Dijon came back into the match (end of the 3rd quarter), we tried to stay calm and under control. We wanted to spread this calm from the bench, whatever happens,” debriefed Julien Cortey.
