Suddenly, the sky fell on the heads of the Metropolitans. A lightning signed Dominic Artis. While they led the debates since the beginning of the last quarter and still had a 10-point lead with 6 minutes to go before the buzzer (59-69, 34th), Vincent Collet's players lost (83-80), Tuesday night, in the quarter-final return of the final phases of Betclic Elite, in Cholet, on an unlikely 3-point shot by the American at the last second.
Everything has to be redone for Victor Wembanyama and his partners. Winners in the first leg on Sunday (93-80), they see Cholet return to one everywhere in their series. They will have to play a beautiful decisive in 48 hours, Thursday night at the Palais des Sports Marcel-Cerdan in Levallois, to try to snatch their sesame for the last square. They would find Asvel who dominated Le Mans in two games. A setback in this support game would, however, send the Mets prematurely on vacation and "Wemby" to his American future with a little lead.
INCREDIBLE GAME-WINNER BY DOMINIC ARTIS🔥🔥🔥🔥#PlayoffsBetclicELITE @CB_officiel pic.twitter.com/HRMWcqpd3E
— LNB (@LNBofficiel) May 23, 2023
But that the fight was intense. Like the duel between the two teams on May 12, in a late game of the 30th day of the championship, where the Mets had already been beaten... by one point late in the game (69-68).
After an indecisive start to the match, Cholet took the lead as the minutes went by. Neal Sako, the pivot trained in Levallois, recalls the good memories of his former club (19 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks in the final). His duel with Wemby makes sparks. An interception of this devil of Dominic Artis in the legs of Victor Wembanyama gives the club of Mauges 12 points before returning to the locker room (34-28, 15th then 44-32, 20th). The biggest gap of the match.
Bilal Coulibaly slams two dunks at high altitude
Vincent Collet took advantage of the break to reframe his players. Back on the floor, the Mets are transformed. Starting with Victor Wembanyama. Rather discreet until then, the probable future number 1 of NBA Draft and resident of the San Antonio Spurs becomes omnipresent. Offensively and defensively. Author of 7 points during the first two quarters, he plants double (14) in less than 10 minutes. He finished the game with 21 points, 14 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal but 5 loose balls.
WEMBY'S HEIGHT ON THIS ALLEY-OOP 🔥🔥🔥
🏀 Match 2: @CB_Officiel - @Metropolitans92
đź“ş Twitch x @SamsungFR pic.twitter.com/hDIVkgw8ff
— First Team (@FirstTeam101) May 23, 2023
In the last act, nothing seemed to stand in the way of the Mets' forward march. Bilal Coulibaly slams two dunks at high altitude, Armel Traoré - long injured this season - imposes his physical power. Nothing but a shot from nowhere from Dominic Artis. Author until then of a 0 out of 5 from long distance, he finds the target at the worst time for the Metropolitans.
Released after a completely crazy scenario, the public of the Meilleraie can invade the field while the partners of Lahaou Konaté return head down to the locker room. Everything will be decided on Thursday! And the duel promises to be intense.
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