For Bourges, try everything to overthrow Mersin and continue in Euroleague

After a humiliation, should you rethink everything, or above all rest? Since Tuesday evening and the rout of Mersin (84-56) in the quarter-finals of the Euroleague, the truth probably lies between the two for Bourges. The endless return transfer day experienced on Wednesday, “with a sunrise at 4 a.m., French time, and an arrival at 7 p.m.”grimaced coach Olivier Lafargue, offered ample time for analysis, while sweeping away the remnants of bitterness. “What we said to each other in the locker room after the game was that it didn’t matter the final gap, small or big, added the technician. You just have to win the next one. »

The formula of the competition indeed gives “the right to error” since the sesame for the Final Four, which the club berruyer aspired to organize at the start of the season, will go to the first team to remove two successes. “It suits us well, we won’t have 28 points to make up for, smiled Sarah Michel. This is why we can always believe in it, especially at home with our audience. »

The reigning French champions, solid at the Prado (only four defeats this season, including three in the Euroleague), will hope for an atmosphere which will however have a hard time competing with that, ” amazing “ according to Lafargue, observed at the Servat Tazegul room, “who didn’t get along so well on television”.

What about the strategy to adopt against an opponent who, at the start of the week, demonstrated his physical superiority, especially after the break (42-22 in the second half)? It should look like what was planned on the shores of the Mediterranean, but which has not always been implemented by Tango. “We changed tactics several times, revealed Thursday Lafargue. Things have been done more or less well. And we always have plans B. But first we have to put more toughness. »

There was certainly no question of inventing a new basketball with only training in the legs, set up Thursday afternoon. “In what we have analyzed, we have to rely on what we have done well, like when we managed to play percussion, bet the coach. Better that than throwing it all in the trash. »

There was also the hope of relying even more on Endy Miyem (34 years old, 25 minutes of play on Tuesday, 10 points at 4 out of 13 in shooting), whose return from a long injury (two months, after a muscle injury to a calf) is accelerated. “She found rhythm, twice as much playing time as compared to his match against Villeneuve-d’Ascq (72-82, for his return, March 11)noted Lafargue. Sarah (Michael) is not yet 100% and we will do our best. »

“We have a lot of experienced players, who have lived in major European competitions, concluded the international rear (34 years old, 119 selections in blue). Normally we are better with a little more pressure. Of course, it is not enough to say it. But we are not afraid of any of their players. It’s the kind of cleaver match that drives us even more. »