The Antibes Sharks were defeated on the court of Nanterre92 and will not see Bercy for the French Cup final. The Antibois held on in the first half before succumbing to the assaults from Nanterre. The focus shifts to the battle for survival starting this Friday in Dijon.
Reflecting the season, Antibes lacked consistency over 40 minutes to hope for a win against a Nanterre 92 team that will play its ninth final in 10 years. Julien Espinosa’s men showcased offensive basketball for one half before encountering a tight defense from the Parisians (70-81). The dream ends and the everyday grind of the Pro A returns this Friday.
Good start
The Sharks had the merit of starting the best (6-0, 3rd) and kept the Nanterre crowd standing as tradition dictates until the first point was scored. Tim Blue and Chris Otule had fun in the paint but Nanterre92’s specialty, the three-pointers, started rolling. Hugo Invernizzi sank three in 4 minutes, allowing his team to take the lead again (17-21, 8th). Blue responded, but Riley and Schaffartzik finished the job at the end of the 1st quarter (24-25).
Offensive show
The American shooter Spencer Butterfield took advantage of the space to hit two long-distance shots and create the first gap (26-33, 12th). But the Antibes team struck back with a 9-0 run thanks to Diarra, Jones, and Solomon (35-33, 14th). Driven by their ever-enthusiastic crowd, Nanterre hurt Antibes mid-second quarter with a good run (35-42, 17th). Otule and Cordinier were active, but Riley, at the very end of the quarter, dashed Antibes’ hopes (47-42).
Challenging return from the locker room
Often, restarts are difficult for the team from the Côte d’Azur. That was the case tonight, with Lessort in the paint, followed by Warren from afar, hurting the Sharks (44-54, 23rd). The second unit struggled, exemplified by Tornato and Diarra’s errors, as they lacked confidence. Nanterre tightened their defense, and as a result, Tim Blue gradually disappeared, scoring only two points in the second half. In the 3rd quarter, Antibes only scored 10 points, widening the gap (52-65).
Pride at the match’s end
The visitors’ three-point success returned, but the green’s paint intensified. The Lessort-Conklin duo followed up with dunks, thrilling the crowd. With two free throws from Conklin, Nanterre took a 19-point lead, the game’s largest gap (59-78, 34th). Points from Max Kouguere, more effective than in recent matches, Chris Jones, the newcomer who showed promising signs, and Frédéric Bourdillon, only altered the deficit, making it less pronounced (11 points).
With a one-win lead over Orléans and Nancy, the two relegation-threatened teams, the Antibes staff did not hide the importance of Friday’s match in Dijon (14th). There are “eleven finals” left to save the Antibes institution.
Nianta Diarra: “It’s frustrating because we approached the match well, especially until halftime. We have to turn the page on this semi-final and focus on Dijon. The team is united, and Jones’ arrival will benefit us on both sides of the court.”
Julien Espinosa: “We managed to create opportunities in the first half. In the second, we were less realistic than Nanterre, who kept their pace. We were cautious offensively, lost more balls, and didn’t produce, which cost us… At -13, it wasn’t over, but the deficit was significant. This match revealed our strengths and weaknesses. We need to steer the games towards our strengths. Moving on, the most important thing is to stay up. We would have liked to have a bit more fun tonight; we lacked ‘fun,’ and it’s a shame.”
