Okobo puts on a show in a convincing ASVEL victory against Zalgiris / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AFP-Scanpix Credit AFP-Scanpix

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (1-0) opened their Turkish Airlines EuroLeague campaign with a convincing win.

Player of the Game EFF 24 Elie Okobo Points 23 Accuracy 9-9 Rebounds 2 Assists 1

French champions in front of their own fans 88-76 (19-16, 25-20, 19-19, 25-21) beat Zalgiris Kaunas (0-1)

Zalgiris climbed out of 13 points deficit which ASVEL got in the second quarter, however, right after that, the hosts made another decisive run.

Chris Jones hit two 3-pointers, Antoine Diot added another one, Kostas Antetokounmpo got a slam dunk, while ASVEL made 13-3 run and recovered their double-digit lead (63-53).

The hosts also had a much better beginning of the fourth quarter. Antetokounmpo made a lay-up, Kahudi added a jumper, and moments later hit a 3-pointer, after which ASVEL lead increased to 20 points (76-56).

Lithuanian powerhouse made a final push and managed to cut the deficit to 9 points (71-80), but it wasn’t enough, and ASVEL got the victory.

"Congratulations to ASVEL, they won a game. They deserved to win a game," said Martin Schiller after the game. "We had problems coping with their aggression, especially in the first half. We got to the three-throw line twice in the first half."

"It would be nice if we could say that we have problems on only one end of the floor. But that's not the case. So, we have to dig on both ends of the floor and improve on both parts of the game. I think that's the only way to do it," the Austrian added.

ASVEL's Elie Okobo went perfect from the field as he finished the game with 23 points (6/6 2PT, 3/3 3PT, 2/3 FT), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 3 drawn fouls, and 24 PIR.

"Defensively, we let them have too many open shots from three-point," Emmanuel Mudiay said after the game. "Of course, we have many new players, so it's an adjustment process. We just have to figure out how to be better defensively.

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne / Schedule

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne Zalgiris Kaunas88-76 ALBA Berlin LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne10-0818:00

ASVEL got a successful stretch in the second quarter. Paul Lacombe and Charles Kahudi hit two 3-pointers; Elie Okobo scored 6 points in a row, while ASVEL made a 13-2 run and increased their lead to 13 points (38-25).

However, Zalgiris managed to come back after halftime. Edgaras Ulanovas sank a jumper, Janis Strelnieks added two free throws, Joffrey Lauvergne and Tyler Cavanaugh scored in the paint, and after a 14-6 run, Lithuanian champions tied the score (50-50).

Strelnieks took the Zalgiris’ leader role and finished the game with 21 points (2/3 2PT, 4/6 3PT, 5/6 FT), 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 drawn fouls, and 23 PIR.

"It was a tough loss, and we didn't compete enough defensively," Strelnieks told Basketnews after the loss. "Of course, the season just started, but we have to improve. Everything starts from the defense. If we improve defensively, the offense will follow".

ASVEL: Elie Okobo 23 (6/6 2PT, 3/3 3PT, 24 PIR), Chris Jones 14 (4/6 2PT, 6 AST), Youssoupha Fall 12 (6/9 2PT, 9 REB, 19 PIR), Charles Kahui 11.

Zalgiris: Janis Strelnieks 21 (4/6 3PT, 23 PIR), Emmanuel Mudiay 12 (3/8 2PT), Lukas Lekavicius 8, Niels Giffey 8.

Martin Schiller's post-game interview

Janis Strelnieks' post-game interview

Emmanuel Mudiay's post-game interview

Highlights

Subscribe to BN+ and get access to exclusive content.