Qualifying Round H, first-leg report: ASK Riga 69-62 Cholet Basket
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 ASK Riga showed its power and got closer to the Eurocup regular season by downing Cholet Basket 69-62 in the first leg of the first qualifying round in the Latvian capital on Tuesday night. As such, ASK now has a seven-point lead in the two-way series that now travel to France for the second leg next week, in which Cholet will have the home court advantage. The winner of this series will face Cajasol in the second qualifying round while the loser will play the EuroChallenge. Milutin Aleksic paced the winners with 15 points on 6-for-8 two-pointers. Andrius Mazutis added 14 while Sandis Valters got 11 for ASK. Vincent Grier and Claude Marquis each had 12 points for Cholet while Alan Wiggins added 11. Wiggins and Rodrigue Beaubois shined midway through the first quarter, while a three-pointer by Nando De Colo gave Cholet a 16-25 margin after 10 minutes. A jumper by Marquis gave the guests their biggest margin 19-31. Ernests Kalve, Bruno Sundov and Uvis Helmanis rescued ASK from downtown to bring the hosts within 32-35 at halftime. Aleksic was the key factor in a game-breaking 13-0 run that put ASK ahead for good, 49-42. Free throw accuracy and an oustanding Mazutis allowed ASK to stay ahead all the way until the final buzzer.
Sundov got ASK going with a three-pointer and even Grier and Bearbois answered with consecutive baskets, Valters struck from downtown for a 6-4 lead. Wiggins stepped up with back-to-back jumpers but Corey Brewer and Valters kept ASK ahead, 11-10. A three-pointer by Beaubois ignited a 0-8 run that gave Cholet a 11-18 margin. Mike Mokongo and Claude Marquis shined late in the first quarter while De Colo nailed a big triple to keep the guests ahead, 16-25, after 10 minutes. Both teams went scoreless in the next 2 minutes but Kalve tried to bring ASK back to life with a layup-plus-foul. De Colo immediately answered from downtown while Marquis scored again to make it a 12-point game, 19-31. ASK improved its defense midway through the second quarter while Kalve and another triple by Sundov got the hosts within 27-31. Uvis Helmanis sank his trademark triple but Bearbois and Thomas Larrouquis stepped up for a 32-35 Cholet edge as both teams headed to the locker rooms.
Greer and De Colo had 5 quick points after the break to restore an eight-point Cholet lead, 32-40. ASK needed a go-to guy and found one in Milutin Aleksic, who had the opening 6 points in a 13-0 run that Valters capped with his third three-pointer to give ASK a 49-42 edge after 28 minutes. Cholet had been scoreless for more than 5 minutes already until Grier sank a jumper but a three-point play by an unstoppable Aleksic allowed ASK to stay ahead, 53-46, after 30 minutes. Greer and Larroquis combined for 5 quick points to give Cholet some hope, 55-51, early in the fourth quarter. Marsh hit free throws and Mazutis added a layup but Larroquis kept Cholet as close as 59-55 with 6 minutes to go. He got some help from Marquis to narrow the gap even more, 61-58. Mazutis and Aleksic made free throws that sealed the outcome, 65-60, with less than 2 minutes remaining. Nothing changed in the opening minute, as ASK got a -point lead in the series.
ASK Riga head coach Ramunas Butautas:
"We had a lot of information about Cholet Basket. We had watched some videos and knew this was a very well-coached team, with good American players. We know that their leader was Nanco de Colo, who cannot be overguarded because he can find other players to score. I think we did a good job to stop De Colo. Corey Brewer did not play well today and that is one of the reasons to understand our slow start. We are now travelling to France to win the game, not to defend a seven-point lead."
ASK Riga forward Uvis Helmanis:
"I think we were not consistent in defense or offense. It showed when the game started and we were trailing at halftime. We managed to get back on court and do well in the third quarter. We won by seven points, but I feel we should have done it by a bigger margin. We had 15 turnovers, which are a lot. It is like allowing 30 points. It was a similar game to the one we played against Ventspils last week. We improved in the third quarter and won it this time. It is important to remember that we will have an 80-minute winner, so this win is not one of a great value. Both teams will meet again in Cholet next Tuesday, but even before, ASK visits Lietuvos Rytas in the Baltic League on Saturday. We will fly straight awat to France on Sunday."
Cholet Basket head coach Erman Kunter:
"We are still a new team and therefore make too many mistakes. We played well in the first half but did not have a good third quarter. We attempted to rescue the series in the fourth quarter. You have to play 40 minutes at a good level if you want to beat a team like ASK. I love the Riga Arena and its atmosphere during the games. My team had a good experience here. We have an important game in the French League this weekend. After all, we will prepare the game against ASK and focused only in that goal. Today's result is not very good, but we still have to fight. We nearly had information on our opponents, just about some individual players like Brewer, Helmanis or Valters. We will have more information now and will work better for the game in Cholet. Everything is possible."
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Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Eurocupbasketball.com
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