Cholet ended a bad week in Dijon: « Many key players hung their heads »
The season had started well for Cholet Basket, winning their first two league games. But last week reminded us of the fragility of Cholet’s squad. Defeated Tuesday at Joventut Badalona (91-73) in their Champions League (BCL) opener, CB then fell in Dijon (76-64). A game where youth and lack of offensive cohesion weighed heavily.
« We clearly handed the game to Dijon »
Very upset after the game, Gerald Ayayi (1.91m, 24 years old) made no excuses. The Cholet guard pointed out in Ouest-France the lack of cohesion and responsibility from key players.
« We clearly handed the game to Dijon. Defensively, we’re roughly doing what we want to do, keeping the opposing team to 70-75 points, but offensively, we’re completely off. Our values are about sharing the ball, and here we have a terrible assists to turnovers ratio. That’s where it matters. »
For him, the problem is primarily collective. « Many key players hung their heads. We’re a young group, so the leaders need to set an example, myself first. Tonight, I was the first to fail and I’ll be the first to question myself. »
Strong self-criticism, reflecting a group still searching for identity and bearings.
Fabrice Lefrançois: « Not everything should be dismissed »
His coach Fabrice Lefrançois tried to put his players’ performance in perspective, noting they played a decent game aside from turnovers.
« That’s the key number: 27 turnovers. Besides that, we dominate in rebounds and defense. If you take away the second quarter, we only allow 43 points in the other three, which is pretty good against a talented team. »
The Cholet coach prefers to focus on the positive sequences: « We played a coherent game for three quarters but the second quarter hurt us. We’re not far from turning things around, but we lose one or two balls or mismanage a situation. It’s a young group that needs to progress. »
A group in learning process
With several new key players and one of the lowest average ages in Betclic ELITE, Cholet is learning to deal with its ups and downs. While defense remains a solid foundation, ball movement and managing difficult stretches remain areas for improvement. The trip to Badalona and the loss in Dijon have at least highlighted areas for progress before a busy schedule.
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