ASVEL suffers heartbreaking defeat to Partizan Belgrade on last-second foul

ASVEL had defeated Partizan Belgrade by a single point at home in the first meeting (final score 88-87). The script was flipped tonight at the Belgrade Arena, as the Serbian team claimed victory by the same margin (79-78). In this clash between two bottom-table teams (16th and 20th), the Villeurbanne side led for most of the match but endured two critical collapses.

A tale of two devastating runs

The first came just before halftime, when they thought they had secured a comfortable lead heading into the break (23-32). That was before conceding a crushing 13-0 run (36-32), capped off by former ASVEL player Dylan Osetkowski (16 points on 4/5 from 3-points), in front of a fired-up Serbian crowd. « We started the match very well, but we dropped off in the second quarter. We need to come back, play faster, but above all lose the ball less, » Thomas Heurtel announced at halftime to EuroLeague TV. A statement that proved prophetic.

The second critical passage unfolded in the final quarter. During this period, Pierric Poupet‘s men committed 7 turnovers in the last 9 minutes (out of 14 total). And the error that drove the final nail in their coffin: a foul with 1.1 seconds remaining on Carlik Jones (14 points), with the score tied. The American guard, a former Chicago Bulls player, only needed to make one free-throw to secure the victory.

Sterling Brown from way too far!@PartizanBC #MotorolaMagicMoments pic.twitter.com/J3WVNxlkBa

— EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) March 24, 2026

Costly mistakes in crunch time

The coach acknowledged after the encounter: « What decided the end of the match? Our shooting efficiency, and some turnovers here and there… Unfortunately the coin didn’t fall on the right side for us. » Without their clutch performer Glynn Watson Jr (at least one month absence with a shoulder dislocation), they had to find other solutions in the money-time.

Thomas Heurtel — heavily relied upon for creation and excellent until then (19 points, 9 assists) — committed several errors in those final minutes, accumulating 6 turnovers. On the Villeurbanne side, one could also regret the lack of cutting edge from Bastien Vautier in the paint (7 points on 2/5 shooting, 6 rebounds and 5 assists), who missed opportunities.

These details pushed ASVEL toward a third consecutive defeat in EuroLeague, and a record of 7 wins for 18 losses across all competitions in 2026. « I don’t want to analyze this match too much, I’m proud of my guys, of the way they believed in victory in an away match… We continue to fight, this kind of match shows we can do it, » concluded Pierric Poupet.