May 19, 2013
Regular Season Game 5 - November 25, 2009 CET: 19:00 Local time: 19:00 - ASTROBALLE
Asvel Basket 71 - 68 Cibona

Records

Ave.   Ave.
0-0 Final Four 0-0
0-0 Playoffs 0-0
0-0 Top 16 0-0
0-4 Regular Season 1-3
0-4 Overall 1-3

Referees

Crew Chief
MITJANA, JUAN CARLOS, Spain
Referee
CICORIA, GIANPAOLO, Italy
Umpire
KOROMILAS, ELIAS, Greece

Team Stats

Ave.   Ave.
63.8 Points 56.3
29.8 Rebounds 30.3
7.3 O. Rebounds 10.8
22.5 D. Rebounds 19.5
12.5 Assists 8.3
6.5 Steals 8.3
2.3 Blocks 1.3
16.3 Turnovers 16.0
53.3 % 2PT 42.9 %
29.1 % 3PT 21.6 %
76.9 % FT 76.4 %
56.8 Index 36.0
Team Stats - Asvel Basket
Team Stats - Cibona

Player Stats

Ave.   Ave.
16.5 / Traore Points 11.3 / Tomas
7.5 / Traore Rebounds 3.8 / Tomas
2.0 / Traore OR 2.3 / Andric
5.5 / Traore DR 3.3 / Tomas
4.0 / LUKAUSKIS, MINDAUGAS Assists 3.3 / Gordon
2.5 / LUKAUSKIS, MINDAUGAS Steals 3.0 / Gordon
0.8 / Traore Blocks 0.8 / Gordon
2.8 / DIXON, ROBERT LEE Turnovers 3.0 / Tomas
75.0 % / CAMPBELL, ERIC 2PT 55.6 % / VUKUSIC, VEDRAN
66.7 % / Kangur 3PT 37.5 % / VUKUSIC, VEDRAN
100.0 % / Kangur FT 100.0 % / Rozic
16.8 / Traore Index 12.5 / Gordon
Team Roster - Asvel Basket
Team Roster - Cibona

THE TAKE

A direct fight to rejoin the Top 16 race in Group A will take place in Lyon, France, where Asvel Basket hosts Cibona Zagreb on Wednesday. Asvel is looking for its first win after four consecutive losses, while Cibona is only slightly ahead with a 1-3 record. It will be a special game for Asvel forward Rawle Marshall, who not only Marshall returns to the Euroleague, but faces his former team right away. Marshall joins an interesting Asvel backcourt that already features combo guard Mindaugas Lukauskis, veteran shooter Laurent Foirest and forward Ben Dewar. Marshall has an interesting matchup against Jamont Gordon, while Lukauskis is set to use his defensive skills against Marko Tomas, Cibona's top scorer so far this season. Tomas has a nice combination of size, deep range and one-on-one skills, but two-time Eurocup champion Lukauskis is ready for the challenge. Bojan Bogdanovic and Marin Rozic will also play an important role for Cibonba. Bogdanovic must take advantage of his quickness against Dewar, while Rozic is a key piece for head coach Velimir Perasovic due to his defense and experience. The battle in the paint will be critical, even though both teams are without their starting centers, Dalibor Bagaric of Cibona and Curtis Borchardt of Asvel. Ali Traore has been unstoppable for Asvel, taking over in the low post with a fine array of moves highlighted by a deadly left-handed jump hook. Power forward Eric Campbell, versatile big man Kristjan Kangur and aggressive forward Victor Samnick are available to help Traore around the baskets. Without Bagaric, Cibona will try to open the court with Luksa Andric and Vedran Vukusic, taking advantage of their mobility and shooting range. Leon Radosevic offers rebounding skills and intensity off the bench, while Rozic may see playing time at power forward. Bobby Dixon is set to run Asvel's offense with Aymeric Jeanneau coming off the bench. Dixon faces a key matchup against Gordon and Antonio Graves. Cibona thrives in five-on-five offense, slowing the game tempo and using the extra pass to get open shots. Asvel must try to feed Traore down low and try to speed up the game. This crucial game promises a clash of styles, where the guards that play smartest could have the upper hands in the end.

REFEREES: Juan Carlos Mitjana, Gianpaolo Cicoria, Elias Koromilas


GAME NOTES

Asvel Basket

Asvel Basket looks to snap an 11-game Euroleague losing streak this week. Asvel’s last Euroleague win came at home against Zalgiris 85-83 in December 2004.

Ali Traore is averaging 20 points on 63.6% shooting, 8.7 rebounds and 1 block in the games in which he has started this season.

Rawle Marshall will make his first Euroleague appearance of the season after joining the club last week.

Marshall started last season with Cibona, where he averaged 13.1 points in eight Euroleague games and 13.5 points in eight Adriatic League games. He was a teammate of six players that are on the current Cibona roster.

Cibona Zagreb

Marin Rozic has made 14 consecutive free throws over his past seven Euroleague games.

Antonio Graves began his European career in France, playing 18 games for Pau-Orthez during the 2007-08 season. He was the French League's runner-up in scoring that season after averaging 20.4 points on 43.5% three-point shooting.

Graves scored a career-high 40-point performance in a French League road win against Asvel Basket in February 2008.

Marko Tomas has been Cibona’s top scorer in three of four Euroleague games this season.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

COLLET, VINCENT
Asvel Basket
"Zagreb is one of the best defenses in Euroleague. Croatian players defend every single inch of the court. Offensively, we must control the aggressiveness of their forward players. To disturb them we’ll have to develop a consistent offense and stop turnovers. We have to forget what's at stake. We must win to get a chance to reach the Top 16. But the most important thing today, regarding the situation, is to win again."
PERASOVIC, VELIMIR
Cibona
"We have a big problem that hit us just before the last practice. Jamont Gordon had a minor car accident and it is doubtful if he is going to be able to participate in the game against Asvel. Asvel plays really aggressive basketball with lots of running and inside players who are quick and mobile. Their main star at the moment is Traore and one of our objectives is to stop him. Also we have to control the rhythm of the game and must not allow them to score in series."

Players

JEANNEAU, AYMERIC
Asvel Basket
"The current situation of the club is not the one we expected. But the players and the staff are still confident. There’s a lot of pressure on this game against Zagreb. There is a lot at stake since our chances to reach Top 16 will be close to zero if we lose. However we believe. We want to give everything we have to win this game."
ROZIC, MARIN
Cibona
"This is a pretty important game for us, because we can make a big step towards the Top 16 if we manage to win. They are a typical representative of French basketball and with their game they can easily make a scoring run, but also quickly lose their advantage. We will se if our former teammate Marshall will play because we know him well and in some games he can make the difference."
Bobby Dixon - Asvel BasketAsvel Basket came back from 15 points down going into the fourth quarter to pull of a stunning 71-68 win over Cibona to snap an 11-game Euroleague losing streak. Cibona appeared to have the game well in hand till the last minutes as it dominated most of the game through good ball movement and team defense that forced Asvel into 17 turnovers until the home side put together an amazing 28-10 run to win the game in the final seconds. The comeback was capped by a Ben Dewar layup off a great pass from point guard Bobby Dixon. Asvel is now tied with Cibona and Zalgiris for fourth place in Group A at 1-4. The French champs host Zalgiris next week, while Cibona visits Montepaschi Siena. Dixon led the way for Asvel with 17 points and 8 assists. Kristjan Kangur added 13 points while Ali Traore and Dewar scored 12 and 10 points, respectively. Marin Rozic and Marko Tomas paced Cibona with 15 points apiece, and Luksa Andric chipped in 14 more.

Traore used his patented left-hand hook in the low post to open the scoring for Asvel. Moments later Dixon added a short jumper after splitting two Cibona defenders with some shake and bake dribbling. Andric got Cibona on the board with a layup off transition, and Rozic got 2 from the line to tie it at 4-4. Jamont Gordon fed Andric two plays in a row for a pair of easy layups to give the visitors the early lead. Rozic found a cutting Andric once more for a score, and Vedran Vukusic hit a bank shot to force coach Collet to call for time. Rozic capped a fastbreak to keep Cibona’s momentum going, 4-14, before Dixon finally struck back for the home side with a three-pointer. Tomas drained a triple of his own to push the lead back to double digits. Laurent Foirest threaded a nice pass to Bangaly Fofana who made a two-handed jam to ignite the home crowd, and Dewar nailed a baseline jumper as the buzzer sounded to reduce the deficit to 11-18 at the end of the first quarter.

Marin Rozic - CibonaSome nice ball movement ended in a layup by Rozic to open the second period, and head coach Vincent Collet quickly asked for a timeout after Vedran Princ converted a Rozic steal into quick 2 points for the visitors. Rawle Marshall responded by scoring his first points against his former club on a pull-up jumper. Rozic, staying aggressive, got to the foul line for 2 points. Traore hit back with another move in the post, and Marshall then drove in for a left-handed layup to get the lead down to 17-24. Andric swished a tough turnaround jumper with the shot clock running down and Bojan Bogdanovic got a basket-plus-foul to push Cibona back out ahead. Mindaugas Lukauskis used a head fake to get off a clean three-pointer for Asvel before Traore went to the bench with two fouls. Fofana scored off an offensive board and Dixon drove into the glass to keep Avsel within striking distance. Tomas answered with a floater, but Kangur countered with a layup to send Avel into the locker room down 26-33.

Both teams came out of the break shooting the ball well. Kangur started the third quarter with three-pointer, and Traore got the Cibona lead down to 31-35 with 2 free throws. Rozic answered with a layup plus foul off an offensive rebound. Foirest hit a triple from the corner and moments later found a cutting Kangur for a bucket. Andric picked up his third foul with Asvel within 4 points before Leon Radosevic swished a short jumper for Cibona. Foirest and Rozic traded three-point bombs. Kangur made 2 from the foul line, but Radosevic scored again, this time with a left-hand hook. Tomas drained a long three in the face of Traore, who responded by hitting a floater in the lane. Tomas put back a miss by Rozic, and Robert Troha and Vukusic buried back-to-back threes to claim a 43-58 lead at the end of three.

Both teams started the fourth quarter cold as Cibona tried to put the game to bed by slowing each possession down while turning up the defensive pressure on Asvel. Fofana finally broke the dry spell with bank shot at the 7:30 mark. Andric made 1 of 2 from the line, but Dewar nailed consecutive three-pointers to get the lead down to 51-60 and bring the home crowd back into the game. Cibona remained stagnant on offense and Kangur scored down low to cap a 10-2 run. Tomas then stepped up and hit a clutch jumper and next time down Gordon flew in for a monster slam to push the lead out to 53-64. Traore made a field goal, but Gordon drove in for a tough layup. Dixon nailed a deep three-pointer and Kangur’s 2 free throws got the lead down to 60-65 with 2:00 to play. Andric made 1 of 2 from the line, but Dixon spun in the lane for a layup and followed up with a three to get to 65-68 with a minute to play. Tomas missed a jumper and Traore was fouled by Gordon on the defensive board. With 34 seconds to play, Traore made it a 1-point game with 2 foul shots. Rozic missed a three-pointer from the corner, Dixon grabbed the rebounds and launched a half-court pass to a streaking Dewar for the game-winning lay up with 6 seconds to play. Cibona lost the ball, and Dixon was fouled and went to the line where he gave Asvel a 3-point lead. After Asvel tipped the ball out of bounds, Tomas missed a potential tying three-pointer and all of Lyon began to celebrate.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Euroleague.net
Referees: MITJANA, JUAN CARLOS (ESP), CICORIA, GIANPAOLO (ITA), KOROMILAS, ELIAS (GRE)
Attendance: 5385
By Quarter1234
Asvel Basket11151728
Cibona18152510
End of Quarter1234
Asvel Basket11264371
Cibona18335868
Head coach: COLLET, VINCENT
Asvel Basket
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
5 LUKAUSKIS, MINDAUGAS 15:34 3   1/3     2 2 1 1 3     3 2 1
7 FOIREST, LAURENT 14:47 6 0/1 2/3     1 1 2 1 3     2 1 4
9 JEANNEAU, AYMERIC 9:02   0/2           1   1         -2
10 DEWAR, BEN 20:34 10 2/3 2/2               1   4   6
11 PARKER, TERENCE DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 TRAORE, ALI 22:46 12 4/5   4/4 1 2 3     2     4 4 12
14 KANGUR, KRISTJAN 27:13 13 3/3 1/2 4/4 1 1 2 3   1 1   5 4 16
15 DA SILVEIRA, OCTAVIO DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
16 FOFANA, BANGALY 16:52 6 3/3   0/2 4 6 10     2 1   1 2 14
17 MARSHALL, RAWLE 29:05 4 2/4 0/4 0/1   4 4             5 6
20 DIXON, BOBBY 31:02 17 3/3 3/9 2/4   3 3 8 1 3   2 1 4 19
21 SAMNICK, VICTOR 13:05   0/1     1 1 2     2     2   -3
Team           1 4 5               5
Totals 200:00 71 17/25 9/23 10/15 8 24 32 15 3 17 3 2 22 22 78
68% 39.1% 66.7%
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Head coach: PERASOVIC, VELIMIR
Cibona
# Player Min Pts 2FG
M-A
 3FG
M-A
 FT
M-A
 Rebounds As St To Bl Fouls PIR
O D T Fv Ag Cm Rv
5 GORDON, JAMONT 28:29 6 2/4 0/2 2/3   4 4 6 1 2 2   5 4 11
7 BOGDANOVIC, BOJAN 8:32 3 1/1 0/2 1/1   1 1     1   1 1 1  
9 TROHA, ROBERT 4:29 3 0/1 1/2   1   1         1 1    
10 RADOSEVIC, LEON 16:07 4 2/2       1 1           2   3
11 VUKUSIC, VEDRAN 33:23 6 1/1 1/3 1/2   3 3 3   1     4 2 6
12 ANDRIC, LUKSA 23:53 14 6/7   2/4 2 1 3         1 3 4 14
15 ZUBCIC, TOMISLAV 6:37   0/1 0/1     1 1             1  
19 PRINC, VEDRAN 11:31 2 1/1 0/1         1   1     1    
20 ROZIC, MARIN 30:07 15 3/7 1/5 6/7 1 3 4 2 2 1     2 5 16
33 TOMAS, MARKO 36:52 15 3/5 2/8 3/4 1 1 2 1 4       3 5 15
Team             1 1     1          
Totals 200:00 68 19/30 5/24 15/21 5 16 21 13 7 7 2 3 22 22 65
63.3% 20.8% 71.4%
This game is not yet played

Head Coaches

COLLET, VINCENT
Asvel Basket
"This is unequivocally a blessing. Mentally it can help us, even if it is not enough. We'll try to get back on track with even more determination and desire. This scenario may help us to build momentum. But it was just the first step now and must be confirmed in our next game on Friday against Le Mans."
PERASOVIC, VELIMIR
Cibona
"We played well in the first three quarters and then Asvel became more aggressive and we made stupid fouls. This loss is tough. They didn't win this game, but we lost it. All games are important now to qualify for the Top 16, not only our home game against Asvel."

Players

FOFANA, BANGALY
Asvel Basket
"It's an important win for us. We gave everything and it paid off. We are all very happy and relieved. It's great. We really wanted this win with heart and soul. It will do us well for the future. Now we must have really good run to save the season. It's a game we will reference that built character."
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