The Antibes Sharks, far too clumsy in the second half, fell 86-78 on the court of Châlons-Reims. Tim Blue, however, confirmed his performance from the first game with 27 points.
Disappointment. That’s the word bouncing around in the heads of the Antibes club members. After a rather successful first half, the Azurean team fell apart in the second period, losing too many balls to hope for anything better.
Blue, always Blue
The first quarter for Antibes boils down to two names: Sanford and Blue. The shooting guard who came from Germany was omnipresent in attack (6 points) and defense (4 rebounds). The MVP of the first matchday continued his momentum with 12 points on 4/5 shooting by the end of ten minutes. The Sharks led at the end of the 1st quarter (22-20).
The Antibes team continued its groundwork, and the gap quickly widened (27-32, 16th minute then 29-36, 17th minute), still driven by the Blue-Sanford duo. Max Kouguere, who made a good entry, hit a three-pointer at the buzzer, allowing Antibes to have a seven-point lead at the break (45-38).
Too Many Mistakes
After a high-quality first act, the Sharks fumbled their basketball. The Marne team caught up, scoring five points in less than fifteen seconds (45-49, 23rd minute). On the Antibes side, only Blue stood out. The American power forward reached the 20-point mark after 23 minutes of play. One minute later, CCRB took the lead and even widened the gap (56-49, 27th minute). The Azurean attack stopped responding. Antibes remained with just four measly points scored in the third quarter for a long time. Despite seven turnovers in the quarter, Julien Espinosa’s men stayed in touch (58-62).
Max Kouguere had the hot hand. He hit a three-pointer at the start of the quarter, keeping Antibes in the game. On rebounds, Yarou confirmed his good adaptation (9), but the second part of the last quarter saw the Sharks plunge. Between turnovers, missed shots, and absent defense, the last five minutes were quite dismal, mirroring Blassingame’s very average game (7 points but 0/6 in shooting).
Antibes will have to raise their heads this Friday evening (8:30 PM, Azur Arena) against Portel, who just collapsed on the court of Bourg-en-Bresse (91-53 defeat). A match that Tyler Harvey, still affected by an ankle injury, might play.
Photo credit: official Twitter account of the Antibes Sharks
