Paris and the Euroleague, it’s always mad love! The idyll of Paris Basketball, which is discovering the premier competition, continued Thursday evening for an eighth match. An eighth victory in a row – best current series in the competition -, hard won at the Adidas Arena against the Italians of Virtus Bologna, at the end of a poorly started match, generally controlled, and finished under stress (81-78).
In an almost full house (7,963 spectators), carried by a kop of “Parisii” who, from one end of the evening to the other, never stopped encouraging their own, Tiago Splitter’s men at first seemed slow, as if cooled by the absence of a Betclic Élite match this weekend (international break required), to the point of starting the evening with a 2-13 which then laid the foundations for a potential fourth defeat in the premier competition. But, like their season and their basketball, the vice-champions of France are every evening capable of overturning everything in their path, and this is what they tried to do against the team of ‘Isaïa Cordinier (14 points), silver medalist with the French team at the Paris Olympics and received a warm ovation during the presentation of the teams.
T.J. Shorts et Maodo Lo portent Paris
Back in the game at the end of the first quarter (21-24, 10th), the Parisians, long unable to hold off Will Clyburn (20 points at the break, 25 in the end), took their time to impose their rhythm. Carried by TJ Shorts (19 points) but also Maodo Lo (15 points), very valuable in his team’s down moments, the locals obtained the first advantage of the evening in the middle of the second quarter (35-33, 17th) .
If they never let go of the score again, Nadir Hifi (11 points) and others never managed to take off: despite a clear advantage at the start of the third quarter (55-44, 24th), they saw the Virtus come back to one possession (61-59), without breaking down. Lacking skill in the last act, Paris controlled its opponent as best it could, but a three-point basket from Clyburn (77-75) caused a few cold sweats in the entire assembly. Without consequence, since Paris finally headed towards a ninth victory in 12 outings, the Arena jubilant on an important basket from TJ Shorts 12 seconds from the final buzzer, without the late three points from Marco Belinelli (at 6”1) or the throw left on the line by Hifi does not change the situation (81-78).
The superb record of the capital club, impossible to imagine at the start of the season, earned the neophyte a tied second place. And perhaps even the first, if Fenerbahçe Istanbul (9 wins for 2 losses), the only leader for the moment, were to lose on Friday against Milan. What more could you ask for?
