It was a game-winning basket by Tim Blue with two seconds left that gave the Sharks Antibes a 61-60 victory on Denain’s court. On Monday evening (8:30 p.m.), in a packed Azur Arena, the Antibes team will play for their return to the elite.
We’re starting to see a pattern. Yes, the pattern of these tense end-of-match scenarios, hearts racing at 10,000, that one point lead or deficit. And this first match of the Pro B final (the second tier of French basketball) was no exception. A match full of tension, in a heated Northern hall, with a gap that never exceeded ten points. In summary, a true final.
As often happens, the first minutes of such an important match result in a round of observation. Antibes makes the first gap (9-12, 5th minute) but is punished by Denain, accurate from long distance (17-12, 7th minute). The Azureans rely on their fiery duo Blue-Solomon (12 points out of Antibes’ 15) but it’s the locals who are ahead at the end of the first quarter (17-15).
Pressure mounts on the shoulders of Julien Espinosa’s men who fail to respond to the defensive challenge posed by the Northerners (22-15, 11th minute then 29-21, 15th minute). The Antibes “x-factor,” Sime Spralja bursts out and scores seven consecutive points. Hollins and Cazenobe, on Denain’s side, spin the heads of the Sharks, much less aggressive than last Tuesday during the tiebreaker against Le Portel. Mbida and Blue limit the damage before returning to the locker rooms. Denain retains the lead (37-32).
The return from the locker room resumes at a pace similar to the first half with an average lead of five points in favor of the locals. This time, the three-point shooting is on the side of the Antibes blues who take the lead thanks to Diarra and Bourdillon (2 three-point shots, 47-49, 28th minute). Nevertheless, there’s the activity of the dunk contest winner at the All-Star Game, namely Billy Yakuba Ouattara, effective on both offense and defense (53-49, end of the 3rd quarter).
Under the basket, on both sides of the court, Antibes responds little (40 rebounds to 29 in total). It takes an incredible inaccuracy, since the first minutes of the game, from Jean-Christophe Prat’s men (Denain’s coach) at free throws (7/20 in total) to keep the valiant Antibes team in the game (53-53, 34th minute).
It is in the closing moments that the Sharks’ fundamentals (defense, solidity, no easy shots for the opponent) reappear, and it’s evident because for five minutes, Denain is left scoreless. The Azureans think they’re making a decisive break (55-59, 37th minute) but the locals come back and even regain the lead 35 seconds before the end thanks to the insane accuracy of young American Hollins (60-59, 39th minute). Rarely successful at the buzzer, Antibes achieves the perfect heist thanks to the match MVP, Tim Blue, who breaks through the defense, scores the decisive basket, and gives his team the victory.
“It was very intense, we prepared well. Half the job is done, we now need to finish at home. We know them, we’ve played them five times this season, we’ve studied them well. Tim Blue is not the second-best player in ProB for nothing, he proved it tonight,” says Mamoutou Diarra, captain of the Sharks Antibes, on Sport+.
Monday night (tomorrow), around 10:15 p.m., in case of victory, the Sharks Antibes will have their ticket to Pro A next season, a year after leaving it. But on the other side, Denain, impacted by this defeat in front of its crowd, will show pride. The Northerners know the taste of victory at the Azur Arena. Will Solomon and his nine teammates have been warned…
Photo credit: Romain Robini / Sharks Antibes
