Euroleague Basketball: TJ Parker’s Asvel, more than ever in the hot seat, beaten at Fenerbahçe

2023-10-19 23:13:27

Asvel, in bad shape in recent weeks, sank further into crisis on Thursday by collapsing on the floor of Fenerbahçe (101-86), its fourth defeat in as many Euroleague days and its seventeenth of rank in the competition.

This seventh defeat in eight matches in all competitions, which pushes the Villeurbannais even further to last place in the Euroleague rankings, places their coach TJ Parker in an increasingly uncomfortable situation. “We had a good start to the match, the players did a good job (…) but they came back in the second part, with a very tough defense,” commented Parker, brother of Tony, president of the club, at the end of the match.

Asked at a press conference about his future at the head of the team, the brother of Asvel owner Tony Parker, under contract until June 2026, said he had not yet received a “phone call” telling him the end of the adventure. “We’ll see, I still haven’t received a phone call, what happens will happen. My job is to be ready for the next match, we’ll see if I get a phone call, I don’t know,” he said.

A comfortable lead at half-time

Already beaten on Tuesday in Istanbul by Anadolu Efes (89-84), the Asvel players sank Thursday evening against Fenerbahçe after leading by 13 points at half-time in the boiling Ulker Sports Arena. The same scenario repeated itself this Thursday evening: impactful from the start of the match against the Istanbulites competing in clumsiness, its players had completed the first quarter with a 12-length lead (16-28), taking things by surprise part of the Turkish public.

Led by Frank Jackson (25 pts, top scorer of the match), Asvel widened the gap in the second quarter, leading its hosts by 18 points, to reach half-time with a comfortable lead ( 42-55). But the storm arrived: the Villeurbannais conceded a 9-0 in the first three minutes of the third quarter. Then, Fenerbahçe came back to score in the 27th minute (66-66) in front of their excited crowd, starting the last quarter with a 2-point lead (72-70).

Stunned, Asvel never saw the light of day again, leaving Fenerbahçe heading towards great success. And rushed his coach towards a more than probable departure. According to The teamit is the Canadian coach of world champion Germany Gordon Hebert who is on pole to take his place.