The Sunday Mail
Online Reporter
ZIMBABWE international basketball player Vitalis Chikoko began his 2022/2023 Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB) Pro A season on a high as his French club Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez edged Strasbourg 83-80 in a tightly contested affair at Palais des Sports de Pau Arena on Saturday.
The win marked the beginning of Chikoko’s 12th year as a professional, with the 31-year-old Zimbabwe captain taking to social media to commemorate the occasion.
“Year 12 off to a good start! Great team win!” wrote Chikoko on his official Facebook page.
He played just under 32 minutes and finished with 17 points, five rebounds and two assists. There was little to separate the two teams.
The visitors were out the gate early and edged Pau-Orthez 27-14 in the first quarter, before Chikoko’s team rallied back 30-14 in the second.
This gave the home side a slender 44-41 halftime lead.
Pau-Orthez continued their dominance in the third quarter, taking it 20-16, which left them with very little to do besides hanging on in the fourth and final quarter.
Strasbourg’s Matt Mitchell finished with a game-high 19 points, five rebounds and five assists.
But that was all in vain, as the duo of Giovan Oniangue (18 points, nine rebounds and two assists) and Chikoko proved to be the difference-makers for the home side.
