08 October, 2019
04 October, 2020
2 Jaron Johnson (DIJO)
04/10/2020
Game Report
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JDA Dijon survive Casademont Zaragoza's late comeback, win third spot

ATHENS (Greece) - JDA Dijon finished third in the Basketball Champions League 2019-20, taking down Casademont Zaragoza in 70-65 in the Third Place Game in OAKA. It was a 2-point game with 20 seconds to go, but Dijon kept their calmness from the free throw line, while Zaragoza could not make it any more dramatic the rest of the way.

Turning point: Dijon played a fine game and had a double digit lead for most of the second half, but a Dylan Ennis-powered comeback saw the Spaniards close the gap to two points with 29.4 seconds to play. They didn't have to foul, but David Holston escaped their attention, drew a foul, went to the line and made it a two-possession game with 20 seconds to play. A rushed three-pointer by Nico Brussino did not fall on the next possession, Chase Simon sealed the deal from the line.

Stats don't lie: It came down to field goal percentage as Zaragoza were on par in all the other departments. But with a 21-of-60 shooting day, it's impossible to see them defeating Dijon and their 27-of-62 shooting from the field.

Game hero: David Holston played his best game in Athens, finishing with 20 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Honorable mention goes out to Hans Vanwijn - Belgian forward started this one, was influential from the tip-off and picked up 11 points and 9 rebounds.

Bottom line: JDA Dijon were joint-leaders of the French League when the season finished, they won the 2020 Leaders Cup, so this third place just feels like a good reward for everything they did in 2019-20. Coach Laurent Legname and his guys make it a mission to get back to the final weekend of the season in 2021. As for Zaragoza, this looks like an upgraded team from the one of 2019-20. Keep an eye on them in both the BCL and the Liga Endesa.

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