The final of the French Championship will move to Paris for two matches. Beaten in the first round (90-80) 48 hours earlier, Paris Basketball equalized (1-1) this Thursday against Monaco, the reigning champion. He thus won match 2 in the Monegasque den (70-77). The next round will take place on Sunday (6:30 p.m.) at the Adidas Arena and the fourth on Wednesday still in the capital. Before a possible return to Monaco on June 14 for a decisive match 5.
This final between the two best French teams of the season keeps all its promises. She will be undecided until the end: Paris has regained home advantage and tilted the duel in its favor. If the young and ambitious Parisian club wins the next two matches at home, it will be crowned champion of France, six years after its creation and two months after its Eurocup victory.
With heavy legs for match 1 ultimately lost (90-80) without much discussion possible, Paris Basketball showed a completely different face this Thursday. The Eurocup winners immediately informed the reigning French champions that the game would be more difficult for them this time. Paris dominated the first quarter (25-11) before reaching the break with a 2-length lead (36-38) in a locked-in match.
Monaco continued to chase the score during the rest of the game which became quite a mano a mano. The two teams with the best record of the season offered a duel worthy of their rank. With a conductor at the helm: Nadir Hifi, author of a royal match (24 points, including 5/7 from 3 points) and a winning shot in the last seconds to seal the match. “We put in a good performance, much better than Tuesday,” confided the Parisian to the L’Équipe channel. We regained home advantage, that’s the main thing. Now we know what we have to do to win. » The team that wins the match on Sunday will most certainly put one hand on the trophy.
