Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365: published on Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at 10:28 pm
Bourg-en-Bresse suffered a heavy defeat in the first leg of the Eurocup semi-final against Ankara (71-99) and will need to win in Turkey on Friday to secure a home advantage.
Two years after being the unfortunate finalists in the Eurocup against Paris Basketball, Bourg-en-Bresse is finding it tough to replicate that success this season. The JL team will have to win in Turkey on Friday to secure a home advantage in eight days. Finishing second in Group B after an 18-game round-robin phase and then defeating Ljubljana in the quarter-finals in a single game, Frédéric Fauthoux’s men are now facing Ankara in the semi-finals, in a best-of-three format this time, after finishing 4th in the same Group B that Bourg had beaten twice.
A disastrous first quarter
But the Burgiens were taken by surprise at the start of the match and never recovered, eventually losing by a score of 71-99! In the first quarter, the JL team held on until 11-11, but after four minutes of play, the Turks increased the pace and inflicted a devastating 19-2 in six minutes, with six three-point baskets scored by five different players (13-32, 10th)! Building on their momentum, the Ankara players had a strong start to the second quarter, with a 10-4 lead, mainly due to numerous free throws. Bourg slightly tightened their defense afterwards, but the gap continued to grow slowly, reaching +28 by halftime (26-54).
A likely all-Turkish final
The goal was no longer to win this match but rather not to exhaust too much energy for Match 2. Although the Burgiens did win the third quarter, it was by only four points. By the 27th, Ankara had a thirty-point lead (41-71) and there were a lot of free throws, with the score standing at 49-77 by the 30th minute. In the final quarter, Bourg managed to reduce the deficit to -19 with 2’25 remaining. However, the JL team faltered in the money-time, conceding a 10-0 run with two more long-range shots. At the final buzzer, the margin was +28, despite Adam Mokoka’s 16 points, the top scorer for Bourg. The final is most likely to be an all-Turkish affair, as the other semi-final pits Besiktas against Bahcesehir. Besiktas (with 2 points from Frenchman Kamagate) won 91-72 in the first leg.
Bourg scorers: McGhee (11), Mitchell (6), Moulare (3), McDowell-White (6), Gach (15), Lindo (4), Kokila (10), Mokoka (16)
