French Pro A Tips Off 2018-19 Season
The French Pro A League capped off Round 1 of the 2018-19 season on Sunday, September 23rd with a game between AS Monaco and ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne. Monaco hosted ASVEL but unfortunately, their homecourt advantage was not enough to give them a decisive edge and ASVEL took the win 63-66.
ASVEL got off on the right foot. Miro Bilan dominated in the paint to lead his team with 15 points and eight boards. The game was very close all throughout but at the end of the day it boiled down to ASVEL’s ability to sink their shots from beyond the 3-point arc. They made 5-of-19 shots while Monaco could barely buy a bucket from downtown, and converted on just 1-of-13 shot attempts from deep.
Elmedin Kikanovic tried his best to keep Monaco in stride and exploded for a game-high 25 points. His heroic effort fell short as he did not get enough help from his team’s reserves. On the other hand, ASVEL got some extra scoring punch off the bench with 11 points from American guard A.J. Slaughter.
Overall, the first round was filled with intense basketball action as teams trooped to the hardwood to usher in the new season. It had some surprises as well. On September 22nd the Levallois Metropolitans defeated the defending champions, Le Mans Sarthe Basket 85-74. Levallois went big in the off-season as they bolstered their roster with some new additions to the team. It seems that the moves paid off and the team looks poised to be a strong force to be reckoned with throughout the season. Roko-Leni Ukic was unstoppable for the Metropolitans with 22 points on some efficient shooting from both the field and the free throw line. It was a brief stumble for Le Mans, who were on the road for this loss. As they say, the season is still young and there’s a lot of basketball yet to be played.
SIG Strasbourg was dominant, recording the first huge blowout of the season. They destroyed Cholet on the road 75-112. Their command of the paint paid dividends as Cholet was unable to contain their big men. Youssoupha Fall dropped a monster double-double performance for Strasbourg, recording 25 points and 12 rebounds. It was not a one-man show by Fall as he led four other teammates to score in double figures.
Here are the complete results from Round 1
Gravelines 84-80 Nanterre
Dijon 87-65 Chalons-Reim
Bourg 72-64 Pau-Lacq-Orthez
Levallois 85-74 Le Mans
Cholet 75-112 Strasbourg
Chalon 88-74 Fos-Provence
Boulazac 82-57 Le Portel
Antibes 85-92 Limoges
Monaco 63-66 ASVEL