Olympic perfectly negotiated Act I of the final of the SBL playoffs which opposes it to Union Neuchâtel. The Fribourgeois won 84-75 in St-Léonard after a breathless duel.
In search of a 20th national title and a 3rd Championship/Swiss Cup/Coupe de la Ligue treble, the troop trained by Petar Aleksic notably made its collective and its defense speak. Very discreet on Saturday, the Neuchâtel topscorer Selim Fofana thus made the bitter experience of it.
Led by 12 points in the 26th minute (58-46) after a counterattack concluded by Natan Jurkovitz, the Unionists nevertheless managed to regain courage and make their opponents doubt. Carried by a Bryan Colon on fire (28 points), coach Mitar Trivunovic’s men thus returned to 3 lengths (69-66) at 6’20” from the “buzzer”.
A sparkling Arnaud Cotture
Olympic, however, tightened its guard in the “money time”, under the leadership of the ubiquitous Arnaud Cotture (19 points, 6 rebounds). An award-winning basket followed by a furious dunk from the strong Valais winger allowed the Friborg residents to regain their ease (76-68 with 4’50” from the end). Their defense did the rest.
Act II will take place on Tuesday, still in Friborg (live broadcast on RTSsport.ch from 7:20 p.m.).
ats/jfk