A mixed weekend for the Azur clubs with victories for Nice Volleyball and Cavigal Basketball. However, the Eagles fell in overtime in Tours and Stade Niçois was defeated by Nîmes. In skiing, Margot Bailet achieved the best downhill result of her career in Lake Louise, and Mathieu Faivre finished 7th in the Beaver Creek giant slalom.
Basketball: Cavigal crushes Toulouse
A week after their first loss of the season in Charleville-Mézières, Cavigal easily defeated Toulouse 77-35. This win allows the Nice team to return to the top of the standings, tying with Lattes-Montpellier and Villeneuve d’Ascq. From the first quarter, Rachid Méziane’s team made a difference, leading 18-6. Toulouse woke up in the 2nd quarter, but Cavigal went into the locker rooms ahead (34-27). The second half was a recital. The Niss’ Angels stepped it up a notch, with the Hurt-Anderson-Dabo trio scoring 42 points between them. By the end of this quarter, the gap was already large (+17, 53-36). This was nothing compared to an exceptional last quarter won 22-2. Incredible. Next match on Saturday evening at Hainaut, 10th in the standings out of 14.
Cavigal Statistics: Hurt 16 points, 5 rebounds / Dabo 13 pts, 12 rebs / Diawara 13 pts, 7 rebs / Strunc 9 pts, 3 assists, 2 rebs / Nayo 8 pts, 2 rebs.
Volleyball: Nice wins with difficulty
The first third of the season is nearing its end, and Mladen Kasic’s men claimed a 3-0 victory at Cambrai. However, the task was not as easy as expected against the second-to-last in the standings. In the first set, the Northerners even had a match point, but the Niçois had the final word (30-28). The scenario was almost identical in the second set, with a very tense end (20-20) followed by a winning move by the Azur team (25-23). Cambrai can bite their fingers in the third set. CVEC led 24-19, with 5 match points, before enduring a crushing 6-1. Nice took the third set 27-25. A success in the North that allows NVB to secure second place in the standings behind Rennes. After seven days, there is a 7-point gap between Nice and the third place team, Tourcoing. Next match next Friday against Plessis-Robinson, the last in the standings.
NVB Statistics: Seppanen 15 points / Cubrilo 13 pts / Radevic 11 pts / Béclin 9 pts / Ristic 8 pts.
Hockey: the Eagles fall again
Definitely, the Eagles have been struggling for over a month. Nice Hockey fell on the Tours ice 3-2 after overtime, despite having a 2-0 lead at the half-hour mark. Unstoppable scorer for the Eagles, Vladimir Kubus opened the scoring on a Slovak pass (1-0, 5th minute). Nothing more until halfway through the match when Milan Varga gave Stan Sutor’s men a two-goal lead (2-0, 32nd minute). But in just three minutes, the Remparts got back on track (2-1, 34th then 2-2, 37th). The last third brought nothing new and for the third time as visitors in eight games, Nice went into overtime. The Eagles lost on a late Tours goal after 5 minutes but still brought back a point. After 14 days, Nice is in second place in the standings, two points behind Anglet. Next match is Saturday at home at Jean-Bouin against Val Vanoise, 11th out of 14 in Division 1.
Nice Hockey Statistics: Varga and Kubus 1 goal / Slovak 1 assist.
Rugby: Stade Niçois defeated by Nîmes
It was a crucial match for the rest of the season. The reception of the second in Pool 4, Nîmes, resulted in a 22-13 defeat (15-7 for the Gard team at halftime). With a slew of absentees, the season looks complicated. With one day left until the midseason, Gilbert Doucet’s men are in 5th place in the standings, already 4 points away from the 4th place. Next match is Sunday on Leucate’s field, tied in the standings with the Niçois.
Ski: Mathieu Faivre, 7th, misses podium
The Nice skier is still circling around a first World Cup podium. On Sunday, on the famous Birds of Prey in Beaver Creek (Colorado, USA), Mathieu Faivre finished in seventh place, two-tenths from the podium after concluding the first run in 7th position. In a race won by the unstoppable Marcel Hirscher (Austria), the French Victor Muffat-Jeandet achieved a nice third place. Next event for the Isola 2000 skier on Saturday on the slopes of Val d’Isère for the Critérium de la première neige.
Ski: Bailet surprises!
Friday, on the mythical Canadian slope of Lake Louise, Margot Bailet, skier of the Inter Club of Nice, finished fourth in the downhill won by Lindsey Vonn. At 25 years old, the Niçoise equaled her career-best result, a 4th place obtained in the Bansko Combined (Bulgaria). Saturday and Sunday she couldn’t match her first excellent result, with a 25th place in downhill and 18th in Super-G. Next race is on Saturday, December 19th with the Val d’Isère downhill.
Handball: a victory and a draw for the Bleues
The French women’s team is currently in Denmark for the World Championships (until December 18th). Their first match of the first round was a formality for the French. A 30-20 victory over Germany with 6 goals from Alexandra Lacrabère and solid defense by Béatrice Edwige, both players of OGC Nice Handball. On Monday night, Alain Portes’ team drew against South Korea. A 22-22 draw with 1 goal from Lacrabère and none from Edwige.
Photo credit: Cavigal Basket
