Fabrice Lefrançois, the coach of Cholet Basket, reflected on the game, stating, “After halftime, we lost our grip on what we wanted to do, especially in controlling the game. We stopped playing as planned and also felt their defensive pressure a bit. So, it highlighted that we truly needed to be disciplined to beat this good team. We had a strong first half, doing exactly what we wanted on both ends of the court. What’s unfortunate is that we already conceded 10 points on offensive rebounds in the first half, which could have given us a bit more of a lead. We still managed to go up by 10 points at the start of the third quarter. However, at one point, we lost our discipline, and we paid for it. They have squad depth, which we don’t. They are an Euroleague team with a deep bench and the ability to make choices. That’s how it is.”
Julius Thomas, the coach of Paris Basketball, shared his perspective: “We found lineups that played better as a team. We put in a lot of energy. We found good shots in the second half and changed our defensive approach. The first half was not good. At halftime, I told them, ‘You can accept being manhandled like this, or you can do something about it.’ That’s it. Our squad depth is something that is very important, not just for me, but for the entire team. It works when everyone is fully focused and engaged. It’s a significant competitive advantage. We expect to face much more difficulty. We need to be better than we were today to beat them twice, not just once. We are playing against a very, very good team.”
Parisian shooting guard Yakuba Ouattara, who scored 8 points, added his reaction: “We showed more fight, especially in the second half, where we were good at disrupting their rhythm and preventing them from scoring easy baskets, as we saw in the first half and in the previous game. It was clear in the first half that Cholet seemed to want it more. That’s not normal. We want to fight for the title, and we need to show a different face if we want to win these games. Cholet is a good team. We saw that they won’t give up. And if we show up casually, it won’t work. We were warned once, and a second time in the first half today. Now, we need to learn and be the aggressors. We expect a big fight. Even when we played there during the season, we really struggled to win that game. We know, we’ve been warned. It will come down to the fight, the team that wants it more, regardless of raw talent.”
Statements gathered at the Adidas Arena, Paris
