A week after a frustrating defeat at home against Red Star Belgrade (77-80), to launch the Euroleague season, Paris Basketball once again collapsed in the final minutes, this Friday evening on the floor of the ‘Olimpia Milan (79-74), and will still have to wait before achieving its very first victory in the European competition.
A 6-0 at the start of the last quarter had nevertheless allowed the Parisians to give themselves a little breathing space (63-71, 35th) but the locals made the difference in the money-time while the winners of the Eurocup were no longer able to find offensive solutions.
Waste on the free throw line
But Ettore Messina’s players, deprived of Josh Nebo and Leandro Bolmaro, had nevertheless managed to hang on at the end of the third quarter before leaving eight lengths behind after a big pass from TJ Shorts (17 points, 8 assists decisive, 4 rebounds), back after missing a Championship match, while Nadir Hifi only played 15 minutes (9 points, 3 out of 9) and took a technical foul in the money-time for flopping on a three-point attempt.
Imprecise on the free throw line (61%, 14 out of 23), the Euroleague debutants missed opportunities to take cover and therefore crashed in the money-time. They will have little time to recover from this disappointment as they travel to Dijon on Sunday before hosting European champion Panathinaikos on Tuesday October 15 at the Accor Arena with great fanfare.
