Bourg-en-Bresse stifles Monaco in Betclic Elite
We do not know how to say with reliability if the players of Bourg-en-Bresse watched Paris beat Asvel, last night in Betclic Élite (82-79). But the wind of revolt that shook the Halle Carpentier spread to the Ekinox room and to Bressans, this Sunday against Monaco. Maxime Courby (19 points at 75%), Alexandre Chassang (21 points) and Axel Julien (14 points, 13 assists) were notably exceptional.
Carried by a precise and inspired Courby-Chassang duo (4 out of 4 at three points), the locals signed a stunning first quarter to launch their match perfectly (29-14). The whole first half was also of the same ilk, marked by a good shooting success on the Bressan side. Axel Julien and others even finished with 66% success behind the arc (8/12) at the break, against 26% (4/15) for Monaco.
The intensity of Bresse stifled Monaco
Much more than these few figures, it is the fluid and collective attacking game (13 assists to 6) of Bourg which made the Mitrovic troops go crazy. Despite the best from the visitors in the second quarter, with the awakening of Mike James (12 points and top scorer in ASM), the local defense was aggressive throughout the game, pressing as much as possible, embarrassing the Monegasques a lot.
The intensity put on the floor by Eric Mika and his teammates made the difference, like the Bressan coach Laurent Legname during the timeouts. Monaco never found the solution, dominated from start to finish (+16 at half-time, final gap of +25). Bourg-en-Bresse made all the baskets complicated to enter and Armel Traoré even came out bleeding, completely stunned by a blow (involuntary) received by Chassang on the rebound. The symbol of a constant battle, imposed by Bourg, and from which Monaco has never been able to extricate itself.