Toulouse. TMB: forget the softness, put the difficulty
The sweetness of end-of-year feasts digested, it is in the sweetness of Angevin, praised by Joachim Du Bellay from the 16th century, that the girls of the TMB will start the new year in the championship.
A first day in 2023 with an enticing program with five duels between teams currently stuck in the standings: Bourges (2nd) – Lyon (1st), La Roche (5th) – Villeneuve-d’Ascq (4th), Charleville (8th) – TGB ( 7th), Saint-Amand (11th) – Landerneau (12th) and therefore the meeting between Angers (2 wins, 10th) and the TMB (2 wins, 9th). Montpellier (3rd) – Basket Landes (6th) being the exception that confirms this rule of the first LFB day of the new year.
“We won’t have time to test this softness. Or very little on the way between our hotel and the room”, ironically Xavier Noguera, the TMB coach, when we talk about the local climate.
On the ground of the Jean Bouin complex, softness, he does not expect his players to feel it. He asks them otherwise. To be more aggressive, both in attack and defense, to put more difficulty in their actions.
Ending the losing streak
A mandatory condition if the Toulousaines, who after their two initial victories against Basket Landes and Landerneau remain on five consecutive defeats, want to find the path to a success which would be welcome against Angers who are also fighting for maintenance. And this despite his standing as a EuroCup team which saw him win Wednesday in Spain in the lair of Estudiantes Madrid (65-55).
“This match is important, admits Xavier Noguera, firstly because with a victory we start the year on a good footing, but above all because this victory would be financially interesting as Angers are tied on points with us”.
Du Bellay would speak of a conquered Golden Fleece!