A beautiful evening for French basketball in the Eurocup. Just after JL Bourg’s solid victory against Besiktas (86-74) in the first leg of the semi-finals, Paris also shone at home on Tuesday. The capital club, currently ranked 2nd in Betclic Elite, calmly overturned London (99-86), securing their 14th consecutive win across all competitions (Championship, Eurocup, Leaders Cup).
The match didn’t start well for Paris in their home arena, the Adidas Arena, with Leon Kratzer picking up two quick fouls in two minutes and conceding seven points without scoring (0-7, 3rd minute). Sebastian Herrara and Nadir Hifi ignited the comeback with three-pointers before Paris took the lead at the end of the first quarter (30-27, 10th minute) and extended it further (44-35, 15th minute).
The Parisians picked up the pace after halftime. The Lions, who had been beaten twice by the French club in the regular season, closed the gap before the break (54-49, 20th minute). Dominant on the boards, the team from Paris accelerated (74-54, 27th minute) against a London team that struggled to find solutions, despite David Nwaba’s 24 points and Sam Dekker’s 11 points. Led by an MVP-like performance from TJ Shorts (23 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists), the home team limited London to just eight points in the third quarter (79-57, 30th minute) before cruising in the final minutes, with Nadir Hifi continuing his offensive showcase (22 points).
In this best-of-three series, Paris gained confidence at home before traveling to England for the return match on Friday. If they lose in London, the final match of the series will be played on April 3 at the Adidas Arena.
