Diot saves Strasbourg; Lauvergne stands tall for Khimki

STRASBOURG (Eurocup) - When France's players walked off the court at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Madrid for the last time on 13 September, they did so having finished third, thereby registering the country's best-ever result in the competition.

Additionally, it also marked the second time in as many years that les Bleus got onto the podium at a major international competition. In 2013, they captured the European title for the first time.

Two of the players involved in both of those triumphs, Antoine Diot and Joffrey Lauvergne, came to the fore in the Eurocup on Wednesday night.

The 25-year-old Diot, a point guard, not only poured in a game-high 26 points but also made one important contribution after another in overtime to help Strasbourg edge CAI Zaragoza, 88-86.

The 2.09m Lauvergne, one of France's powerful bodies in the front court, had 16 points and six rebounds for BC Khimki as the Russian team scraped an 88-85 triumph at Union Olimpija in Ljubljana.

Strasbourg had to dig deep to win their game because they had a nightmare start and trailed 39-26 at half-time.

After a strong third-quarter performance allowed the French to claim a 61-53 advantage, the club appeared to be on its way to victory.

They even had their noses in front at the end of the fourth quarter but CAI's Pedro Llompart drew a foul while attempting a shot from the arc with two seconds remaining and sank all three free-throws.

That knotted the contest at 74-74 and forced the extra period.

In the overtime, Diot took over.

He buried a three-pointer, sank a pair of free-throws and also came up with a steal that led to one of his assists and helped put the Spanish outfit away.

"This kind of game should serve as an example and experience for the rest of the competition," said Strasbourg and France national team coach Vincent Collet.

"In overtime, Antoine was exceptional. His steal and assist were essential in order to win the game."

Diot said that the Strasbourg effort in the first half had been good, but felt the execution on offense was poor.

"The coach put things in place at half-time," he said.

"We came back with more desire and were more aggressive.

"We could have won earlier if we had not missed so many free throws."

The hosts were 15 of 24 at the charity stripe for the game.

"The team showed character in overtime," Diot said.

FIBA