Olimpia was missing five players, had a 11-man roster, and the game was the regular season last. There were many reasons to cruise to the end, Olimpia chose to compete hard and win 81-80 in Villeurbanne. It has been the 10th road win of the season, the 21st overall, exactly the same club-record number obtained one year ago but with fewer games played, 30 not 32. It was a strange game, Olimpia went behind by six a couple of times early, responded every time and try to take control of the outcome in the third quarter, going up by 11, and again after a Villeurbanne run by 12 in the fourth. ASVEL responded again and the closing minutes were very strange. Two made free throws were disallowed for minor infractions, a devastating Malcolm Delaney (24 points, including 11 straight in the second quarter to turn momentum around) made the three that put Olimpia up by six. Still, Villeurbanne had a 5-0 run including a three-point play by Elie Okobo. Devon Hall with 11 seconds left in the game made just one free throw. On the ensuing possession, a flagrant foul was called again. “It was a correct call but a strange one,” Coach Messina said. David Lighty, the game leading scorer, made one of two free throws but ASVEL retained possession. Olimpia with a collective effort defended to the end, forcing Chris Jones to a contested jump shot. “In the end, we deserved to win for the spirit we showed and we had some good moments offensively and defensively – Coach Messina said – Obviously our free throw shooting could have killed us, but we won and I’m happy. We had a lot of reasons, to just come here and give in. We elected to compete and the win will help us prepare better for the playoffs. We were missing a lot of players.”