There will be only one (last) round of the Regular Season in ProB. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.
The most surprising game was another loss of top-ranked La Rochelle (27-6) at the home court on Friday night. Hosts were edged by fourteenth ranked Nantes (14-19) 76-75. American-Hungarian point guard Darrin Govens (185-1988, college: St.Joseph’s) stepped up and scored 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists for the winners and naturalized Guinean Tidjan Keita (207-1996) chipped in 13 points and 10 rebounds. The best for the losing side was British forward Jubrile Belo (204-1998, college: Montana St.) with a double-double by scoring 21 points and 14 rebounds (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field). La Rochelle’s coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn’t help. Nantes moved-up to thirteenth place. Stade Rochelais at the other side still keeps top position with six games lost. Nantes are looking forward to face league’s second-placed Vichy Clermont on the road in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Stade Rochelais will play against EB Orthez in Pau and is hoping to win this game.
Very significant was EB Orthez’s (#8) just 2-point road victory against 7th ranked Poitiers 80-78. Surinamese forward Gavin Kensmil (201-1998, college: SF Austin) nailed a double-double by scoring 12 points and 15 rebounds for the winning side and Dylan Affo Mama accounted for 14 points and 7 rebounds. Bosnian-Croatian Ivan Ramljak (203-1990, agency: PEPI SPORT) came up with 23 points and 5 rebounds for Poitiers in the defeat. Both coaches used bench players in such a tough game. EB Orthez (17-16) moved-up to seventh place. Newly promoted Poitiers dropped to the eighth position with 17 games lost. They share it with Antibes and ASA. EB Orthez will play against the league’s leader Stade Rochelais in La Rochelle in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Poitiers will play on the road against Evreux (#18) and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Very important is a road loss of second-ranked JA Vichy (24-9) against sixth-ranked Chalons-Reims (19-14) on Friday night. Visiting JA Vichy was crushed by Chalons-Reims in Reims 100-77. The best player for the winners was David Skara who scored 16 points and 7 rebounds. At the other side, the best for the losing team was Cedric Bah who recorded 18 points and 7 rebounds. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving the starting five for next games. Chalons-Reims have an impressive series of nine victories in a row. They moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Rouen. Loser JA Vichy keeps the second position with nine games lost. Chalons-Reims will meet Rouen (#5) on the road in the next round. Vichy Clermont will play against Nantes and hope to secure a win.
There were no shocking results in the rest of the games of round 33: Fos-sur-Mer destroyed Aix-Maurienne on the opponent’s court 96-76. Angers unfortunately lost to Antibes in a home game 73-91. Evreux recorded a loss to ASA on the road 65-76. Orleans was defeated by Boulazac on its own court 74-90. Denain-Voltaire was beaten by St.Chamond in Saint Chamond 85-78. Rouen was destroyed by Lille at home 70-90. Vichy Clermont unfortunately lost to Boulazac on the opponent’s court 70-74. The most impressive stats of the last round were 19 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals by Angelo Warner of Boulazac.
Aix-Maurienne – Fos-sur-Mer 76-96
There was a minor upset in Aix-les-Bains where 14th ranked Aix-Maurienne (13-20) was crushed by sixteenth-ranked Provence Basket (11-22) 96-76 on Friday. The best player for the winners was American point guard Jamar Diggs (190-1988, college: Wofford) who scored 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. His fellow American import point guard Robert Turner III (190-1993, college: Texas Tech) chipped in 26 points and 4 assists. At the other side, the best for the losing team was Kittitian-American swingman Shaun Willett (193-1996, college: Queens, NC) who recorded a double-double by scoring 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists and American guard KJ Jackson (187-1998, college: UMBC) added 12 points and 7 assists respectively. Five Fos-sur-Mer and four Aix-Maurienne players scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Fos-sur-Mer maintains sixteenth place with an 11-22 record. Loser Aix-Maurienne keeps the fourteenth position with 20 games lost. They share it with Denain-Voltaire. Fos-sur-Mer will meet at home Angers (#17) in the next round. Aix-Maurienne will play against Orleans where they are definitely not considered a favorite in this game either.
Top scorers for Fos-sur-Mer: R.Turner III 26 points, J.Diggs 26 points, J.Etou 13 points, V.Vent 12 points, M.Markusson 12 points, M.Wojciechowski 5 points.
Top scorers for Aix-Maurienne: S.Willett 21 points, K.Jackson 12 points, S.Kanoute 11 points, G.Noel 10 points, K.Ammour 7 points, J.Jose Garcia 4 points.
Angers – Antibes 73-91
Very predictable result when tenth-ranked Olympique Antibes (16-17) defeated on the road 16th-ranked Etoile Angers (10-23) 91-73 on Friday. Antibes outrebounded Angers 46-23, including a 32-17 advantage in defensive rebounds. Antibes looked well-organized offensively, handing out 22 assists. The best player for the winners was American forward Garlon Green (201-1991, college: TCU, agency: Slash Sports) who scored 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. Center Mathieu Boyer (207-1995) chipped in a double-double by scoring 14 points and 10 rebounds. Five Olympique Antibes players scored in double figures. At the other side, the best for the losing team was forward Quentin Ruel (202-1999, agency: Octagon Europe) who recorded 15 points and 7 rebounds and swingman Shawn Tanner (194-2001) added 18 points. Olympique Antibes have a solid series of three victories in a row. They moved-up to the eighth place, which they share with Poitiers and ASA. Loser Etoile Angers dropped to the seventeenth position with 23 games lost. They share it with Evreux. Antibes will meet at home higher-ranked Boulazac (#3) in the next round, and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Angers will play against Fos-sur-Mer (#16), and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers for Antibes: G.Green 21 points, Z.Perrin 16 points, M.Boyer 14 points, S.Gbetkom Bikantchou 14 points, B.Palo 11 points, M.Arthur 6 points.
Top scorers for Angers: S.Tanner 18 points, Q.Ruel 15 points, S.Gauthier 9 points, B.Aurele 9 points, M.Hugo 8 points, T.Ghezala 4 points.
Chalons-Reims – Vichy Clermont 100-77
Very important is a road loss of second-ranked JA Vichy (24-9) against sixth-ranked Chalons-Reims (19-14) on Friday night. Visiting JA Vichy was crushed by Chalons-Reims in Reims 100-77. Chalons-Reims made 23-of-25 free shots (92.0 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively, handing out 32 assists compared to just 18 passes made by Vichy Clermont’s players. The best player for the winners was Croatian forward David Skara (203-1995, college: Clemson) who scored 16 points and 7 rebounds. Forward Florian Leopold (204-2000) chipped in 16 points and 7 rebounds. At the other side, the best for the losing team was naturalized Ivorian Cedric Bah (200-1994) who recorded 18 points and 7 rebounds and naturalized Ivorian point guard Assemian Moulare (183-2003) added 14 points. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed the bench players to save the starting five for next games. Chalons-Reims have an impressive series of nine victories in a row. They moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Rouen. Loser JA Vichy keeps the second position with nine games lost. Chalons-Reims will meet Rouen (#5) on the road in the next round. Vichy Clermont will play against Nantes and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers for Chalons-Reims: J.Dally 20 points, F.Leopold 16 points, D.Skara 16 points, B.Tchouaffe 14 points, G.Paumier 8 points, M.Keita 8 points.
Top scorers for Vichy Clermont: C.Bah 18 points, M.Assemian 14 points, M.Ertel II 12 points, K.Ilias 11 points, G.Mamadou 7 points, I.Djambo 7 points.
ASA – Evreux 76-65
Not a big story in a game in Gries where 17th ranked ALM Evreux (10-23) was defeated by ninth-ranked ASA (16-17) 76-65 on Friday. ASA made 18-of-23 free shots (78.3 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively, handing out 22 assists. The best player for the winners was forward Carl Ponsar (203-1997) who scored 14 points and 9 rebounds. Center Yvann MBaya (209-2001) chipped…
