Elite. Nenad Markovic (JDA Dijon): “We were never in the game”
Nenad Markovic (JDA Dijon coach): “First of all, congratulations to the Pau team, they played with a lot of energy, with the same tactical plan as against Roanne. We seemed to be prepared but as a coach, I probably didn’t prepare well. my players what we expected here. It’s the reality. We knew that their ranking was not in line with their level. They practice a good basket, especially during their last two meetings. . We were never in the game : even when we came back to six points, a minute later, we started again at -10 or -12. We were never able to reverse the scenario because we didn’t attack well. Defensively, we collect 76 points. But offensively, we missed lay-ups, open three-point shots. When you don’t go long or penetrate against a zone defense, it’s impossible to play and your confidence goes down. Then, if we do this type of first quarter, it becomes very difficult to win. It’s a new bad move, similar to Cholet.”
David Brembly (JDA Dijon winger): “They got off to a good start, took the lead early on. We tried to push and respond. But we never had control of the game, missing a lot of open shots. We left the transition to them. We have to be better than what we showed tonight, especially on the road where the matches are always difficult.”
Eric Bartecheky (coach of Elan Béarnais): “The key was to continue on the positive points of Roanne. We managed to break their rhythm, to prevent the development of their attack by our zone defense. There is always the danger of taking three-point shots but on limit them to 27%. We also lower their percentage inside. Conversely, in attack, we are at 72% success in the racket. It is not always easy to look for Vitalis Chikoko, despite the faults de Ware and Loum, because it’s a set game. We were still able to find it at the right times. We’re finishing the year very well with three wins, but we’re not euphoric. We’re going to take advantage of the break to come back with even more desire and determination. The season remains long but it’s very positive with the start we’ve had.”