In 100% CSP this Thursday, we first ask ourselves a question. How did Limoges CSP go from a moribund team that remained on 5 defeats in a row, to a formation capable of imposing itself with authority against two competitors for a place in the playoffs? The contribution of players from the bench has not been the same since the French Cup match in Bourg-en-Bresse. It is to be taken into account. Another explanation is to be found on the side of the two American combos. After a period of less well, Demonte Harper and CJ Massinburg are sparkling again.
He really gives the team the energy to start the game
This inevitably helps and it is not the trainer Massimo Cancellieri who will say the opposite. “When Nicolas Lang and I said that after his covid, Demonte was knocked out, it was true. Against Strasbourg, even with 4 faults he was able to play. He really gives the team the energy to start the game. CJ is more of a follower because he’s young. When he feels that the energy is going in the right direction, he is then the one we see the most. CJ has the cigarette, and Demonte has the lighter” picture the technician of Abruzzo. For captain Nicolas Lang, the youth of some didn’t help either when things were going wrong.
One victory and it starts again
They needed simply drip to the victory so that the situation is unblocked considers the Limogeaud artilleryman. “Sometimes you just have to win a game. Behind, I think the station wagon (international window) did a lot of good for some. At the start of 2022, it is not necessarily mentally simple. When you’re at the start of your career and it’s the first time you’ve encountered this, a series of defeats with fairly complicated matches. We did not lose against pipes but in the end you chained the defeats. In the head, it starts to catch you a little. Sometimes you just need a win” he explains.
It’s crazy but I never won there
A return to form to be confirmed on Saturday (6:30 p.m.) in the Portel cauldron. A room where it is difficult to impose. Nicolas Lang is well placed to know. “It’s crazy but I never won there! Once with ASVEL, we brought back the armada. They had 5 professionals and 5 injured, they beat us. It’s super complicated to play there” develops the Limougeaud captain. In his eyes, this season is no exception even though Portel is 16th and 1st non-relegable, with equal victories with the penultimate:”do not look at their ranking. They are super dangerous. They’ve busted a lot of teams lately. You have to be very careful“.
It’s the carnival match on Saturday against Limoges
A match that Limoges must win to assert a little more its status as a good team in the championship believes the Alsatian. “It’s a really tricky team. Average teams can make shots. Sometimes beat big teams at home with atmosphere. But if you want to be a good team, it’s also against this kind of away team where you have to show that you are solid. I expect a lot from this game“slips Nicolas Lang, well aware that a 3rd victory in a row, which is more on the outside, would necessarily be a good operation in the race for the playoffs.
It will be a good test for us
But nothing will be easy on the Côte d’Opale. “It’s a very tough trip for everyone. Their room is a calderone, a cauldron. It’s the name we give when we play Cantú, Varese, Belgrade, Pana. It looks like it. Everyone there is very loud. The team takes a lot of confidence. It will be a good test for us“says Limoges CSP coach Massimo Cancellieri. all the more so since this meeting of the 22nd day is the carnival match at Portel. The most awaited and most festive meeting of the year for northern supporters. Guaranteed atmosphere.