On the floor of the Palais des Sports Marcel-Cerdan, Boulogne-Levallois enforced the home advantage against ASVEL in the first match of the Betclic Elite semi-finals (75-69).
Boulogne-Levallois intends to go after its ambitions. After a difficult qualification against Cholet in the quarter-finals, the number 2 seed in the Betclic Elite play-offs was able to take the lead over ASVEL during the first round. If the Villeurbannais started the meeting better, the advantage of the teammates of Youssoupha Fall (10 points, 7 rebounds) and Retin Obasohan (10 points) never exceeded four lengths.
The Metropolitans, in front of their audience at the Palais des Sports Marcel-Cerdan, took their troubles patiently and, thanks to a controlled end to the first quarter, took the lead by four lengths after ten minutes. The start of the second quarter was marked by a crossover between the two formations with the defenses taking precedence over the attacks. If they only scored fifteen points in ten minutes, the Ile-de-France residents have consolidated their hold on the meeting, leading by six units when returning to the locker room.
The Mets 92 win the 1st game of the series against ASVEL 🔥🔥🔥
See you Tuesday at the Accor Arena for match 2!#GoMets92 #BetclicELITE pic.twitter.com/oBFogoHUWB
– Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 (@Metropolitans92) May 28, 2023
Boulogne-Levallois has mastered
From the start, Victor Wembanyama’s teammates (19 points, 14 rebounds) pressed hard to distance themselves from the reigning three-time French champion. Very quickly, the difference between the two teams exceeded ten lengths but, doing what was necessary not to sink, the ASVEL players approached the last quarter only ten lengths behind Boulogne-Levallois.
The last ten minutes saw the two teams go blow for blow, the gap oscillating for a long time between eight and twelve points, but without the overall dynamic of the meeting being modified. At the buzzer, Boulogne-Levallois won by six units on his floor (75-69) and took the lead in the series in the best of five games. Vincent Collet’s proteges will have the opportunity to confirm this Tuesday during the second round but, this time, in the prestigious setting of the Accor Arena in Paris-Bercy.
BASKET – BETCLIC ELITE / DEMI-FINALES
From May 28 to June 8, 2023
BOULOGNE-LEVALLOIS (2) – ASVEL (3): 1-0
Match 1 – Boulogne-Levallois – ASVEL: 75-69
Match 2 : May 30 at the Accor Arena in Paris-Bercy
Match 3 : June 2 in Villeurbanne
Match 4 (if necessary): June 4 in Villeurbanne
Match 5 (if necessary): June 7 in Levallois
