No separating French duo after first leg of Quarter-Finals

CHARLEVILLE-MEZIERES (France) - It's all to play for in the second leg of the Quarter-Finals tie between Carolo Basket and Basket Landes after the domestic rivals produced a rare 74-74 draw in the first meeting.

Turning Point: Carolo Basket looked like being blown away on their home floor during the first half, trailing by as many as 16 points. But they stopped the bleeding ahead of the second half and clawed their way back into contention with a big third period. 

Game Heroes: Miranda Ayim had an all-action 12 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists for Landes, and was one of four players in double-digits. The hosts were led by Evelyn Akhator who had a similar line of 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Stats Don't Lie: Basket Landes are arguably now in the better position for the next matchup and that was largely down to their nice shooting effort from long range. They made 9-of-17 from downtown.

Bottom Line: It will be bittersweet for Landes  in particular, who had that jump start and led 30-14 prior to letting Carolo back into the contest. They watched their advantage evaporate, but avoided a defeat and will be confident of finishing the job at home. Carolo arguably have the momentum though, having been off the pace in the opening 15 minutes. They used their strength in the paint to repair that damage.

What They Said: "We have a good dynamic. We started badly, but we came back well. The second game will be complicated and intense, but we can do it." : Carolo Basket center, Djene Diawara.

"At home, it'll be different, with a different context. It will be short time between these games." : Basket Landes head coach, Julie Barennes.

FIBA