Cholet took full advantage of Nancy’s surprise defeat in Paris on Friday night. The French defending champion did the job in Strasbourg (78-70) and now counts a 3 win advantage on Nancy and Chalon. The boys of coach Kunter led from start to finish, although they had to hold off a late surge from the hosts. Sammy Mejia (20 points) and Vule Avdalovic (15) made sure there were no late turnarounds, though. Mbaye and McCord had 17 apiece for Strasbourg.
Meanwhile, Roanne beats Gravelines and leapfrogs the latter in the table in the big game of the day. Roanne is now fourth and Gravelines fifth which means this game is a possible match up in the first round of the playoffs. Finally, Vichy boosted its chance to stay up with a crucial and unexpected victory in Le Mans, which leaves Limoges at the bottom. The latter was severely defeated by Hyères-Toulon 82-56 as Rick Hughes scored 21 and grabbed 10 rebounds.