The Boulazac basket Dordogne offers itself a nice fireworks for his twentieth year as a pro (84-63)

Facing the glorious veterans, the 2024-2025 BBD showed this Tuesday that it was more than up to the task. By winning the Aquitaine derby in style, thanks to a fiery final quarter, it virtually secured second place, which could count in the event of a playoff. But above all, it returns to match the leader Blois, who thus remain under pressure, three matches before the end of the regular season.

Yet, even though Hugo Robineau made the first basket, Boulazac initially struggled to be effective, unlike Sitraka Raharimanantoanina. After an interception by Micah Speight and a big miss by Ousman Krubally under the rim leading to a 3-pointer by Christopher Ledlum, Pau-Lacq-Orthez created their first gap (4-11, 4th). Via an "and one", Walter Whyte amplified it slightly and Louis Cassier had to respond to Gaylor Curier behind the arc to prevent it from becoming a chasm. Because if Clément Cavallo brought his team back to four lengths, Ledlum sent them back to more than two possessions with a bonus shot (18-25, 9th).

Acceleration and resistance

Fortunately, with two free throws and an 8-meter shot, Marcos Suka-Umu quickly brought back the parity (25-25, 22nd). Bastien Pinault briefly gave his team the advantage again but the Élan broke down against the strong Périgord defense. On the other side, Ledlum fouled Cyrille Eliezer-Vanerot who scored from 3 points and Krubally sank his free throws for a 15-2 in 6'30 which put Boulazac in the lead (33-27, 16th).

Krubally continued to bother the Pau players, but Pinault reminded himself of the bad memories of the Palio with two three-pointers (36-34, 18th). Louis Cassier had to use his power to keep Boulazac's lead reasonable at halftime (41-34). Robineau, to get revenge for a physical defense, got him a bit worked up with a 3-pointer and then a dunk for Samuta Avea (46-38, 13th).

However, Boulazac was unable to keep up the momentum. Whyte brought the visitors back to within one possession (46-43, 25th) but then missed the equalizer twice from 3-point range, while Avea and Krubally received their third fouls. Robineau then reassured his team with an "and one" (50-43, 27th). Except that Suka-Umu and then Mbye lost the ball while dribbling after a defensive rebound. And when the Spaniard found his way back from distance, Jordan Minor responded. The last to arrive even scored the last nine Béarn points of the third quarter to bring the suspense to a peak (54-52, 30th).

A huge 30-11 to finish

The BBD then held on thanks to its defense and the clumsiness of Dalil Hadi. Offensively, the Périgord side was more than hesitant. Thus, nothing was going in from either side. Until a dart from Suka-Umu that warmed up the room (57-52, 32'40). Even more, he served Thomas Ville in the corner (60-52, 34).

Pinault ended a five-minute drought for his team, but Ledlum played a fanny on the penalty line. Angelo Warner then came out of his box at the perfect moment, with two succulent three-pointers (68-55, 37). Robineau went for the foul, and Krubally, burdened by four fouls in the last five minutes, scored from behind the arc. Warner could come back and deliver the final blow (79-61 with 1:30 left) to make the Palio sing. Robineau put the cherry on the cake of a fine twentieth anniversary as a professional. The big gift, however, remains within reach.