Winner in Roanne, Strasbourg finished eighth in the regular season of Betclic Elite and will therefore face Monaco in the quarter-finals. Boulogne-Levallois, with Victor Wembanyama on 18 points and 9 rebounds, secured second place to challenge Cholet.
The last day of Betclic Elite was held this Tuesday, with finally quite a few stakes, since we already knew seven of the qualified for the play-offs and the two relegated. It remained to be seen who would be the eighth elected, and whether Boulogne-Levallois would retain their second place behind the irremovable leader Monaco. And it was Strasbourg who won their ticket… and the right to face the Roca Team in the quarter-finals! The SIG, author of an excellent end to the season, signed its fourth victory in a row, in Roanne (88-92) and therefore snatched eighth place. Led by ten points after the first quarter, the Alsatians woke up and finished strong, with a 9-5 in the money-time to win this capital victory. DeAndre Lansdowne greatly contributed to this success with 17 points (20pts, 6rbds and 6pds for Ronald March on the Roanne side). But in addition to a victory, Strasbourg also had to count on a defeat of Paris and Gravelines-Dunkerque. And that’s what happened!
The BCM and Paris disappointed
The Parisians lost 93-85 to their neighbors Boulogne-Levallois, who therefore finished second and will face Cholet. The Mets, under the eyes of Kylian Mbappé and Omar Sy, have long been in difficulty (51-47, mt), but have mastered the last minutes well, with a 6-0 to conclude. A few hours from knowing the city where he will spend the next few years of his life, Victor Wembanyama scored 18 points and took 9 rebounds (20pts, 8rbds, 5pds for Tyrone Wallace on the Parisian side). The BCM, for its part, lost 88-93 after extra time against Nancy, assured of maintenance since last week but who did not want to distort the championship by going in flip-flops in the North. Despite a 17-2 to start the match, the SLUC reacted very well (34-37, mt) and could have won in regulation time if Stéphane Gombauld (author of 23 points, and who will join a French team revamped) had not missed his two shots with two seconds remaining. The 24 points and 7 rebounds from Vincent Edwards were not enough for Gravelines, who will therefore not play the play-offs.
Monaco heavily beaten with a B team
Three days before its historic Euroleague semi-final against Olympiakos, Monaco, guaranteed to finish first, moved to Blois, assured of maintenance, without its stars. And the ADA took the opportunity to easily win 102-76 in a one-sided match (53-40, mt), with 19 points for Mbaye Ndiaye. The enormous triple-double of Yoan Makoundou (31pts, 11rbds) was not enough for the Roca Team, which had, and one can understand, already the lead in Kaunas. In another match without stake, Fos-sur-Mer finished red lantern by losing his last match against Limoges: 73-77. The CSP notably made the difference thanks to a successful 6-25 in the second quarter (26-44, mt), and a Lucas Ugolin at 18 points (20pts and 6rbds for Milan Barbitch on the Provençal side). Already relegated to Pro B, Pau-Lacq-Orthez nevertheless concluded its sad season with a victory, beating Cholet, who finished seventh, with a score of 85-81. The Palois started well (25-19, 10th), but only led by one point at half-time (39-38) before creating a nice gap in the third quarter (28-17). CB equalized in the money-time (81-81), but Pau finished well, in the wake of an excellent Michael Stockton with 36 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists (28pts for Terrance Campbell on the Cholet side).
ASVEL ends with a victory
ASVEL, which announced in the evening that the Disciplinary Committee had withdrawn a victory following the problem linked to the contract of Nando de Colo and Jeoffrey Lauvergne, finished third after an 82-85 victory at Bourg-en-Bresse , with a De Colo at 16 points and a Jordan Floyd at 14. The triple champions of France will be opposed in the quarter-finals to Le Mans, winner 88-74 of Nanterre with a Carlton-Chéry duo at 12 points each (14pts for Bibbins on the Nantes side). Bourg-en-Bresse will face Dijon, which ended its regular season with an 89-75 defeat at Portel despite David Holston’s 21 points (17pts for Terry Allen for Le Portel).
The quarter-finals
Monaco (1) – Strasbourg (8)
Boulogne-Levallois (2) – Cholet (7)
ASVEL (3) – Le Mans (6)
Dijon (4) – Bourg-en-Bresse (5)
