Between Paris and Kaunas, Lithuania, there is a distance of 2,000 km and a 2.5 hour flight. This did not scare a large handful of Baltic supporters dressed all in green from enjoying the charms of the City of Lights while coming to encourage Zalgiris which, in Lithuania, is more than a club. It is an institution in a country where basketball is the number 1 sport above all others. Already winner of the Euroleague a while ago (1999), Zalgiris is the club of Arvidas Sabonis, one of the greatest players in history in every sense of the word (2m21) and who was president . One of his two sons, Tautvydas, is on the technical staff while the second, Domantas, plays in the NBA in Sacramento.
This is the daily life of Paris Basketball this season: challenging clubs like no other. Before FC Barcelona in 48 hours in Catalonia and a month before the reception of Real Madrid, the Parisian youngster could be impressed. No way. As with all his opponents from the start, he looked the Lithuanians in the eye.
Balts taken by someone who knows the house well. Sylvain Francisco, at Zalgiris since this summer, rocked Paris Basketball when it was born in 2018. He was there, with the new jersey on his back, at the creation of the Parisian club. There weren’t many of them at the time. Fewer than the 8,000 people who still plentifully filled the Adidas Arena at the Porte de la Chapelle on this autumn Wednesday. This Paris Basketball wanted a solid and loyal fan base: it found it.
One last minute still unbreathable
With the American pivot Kevarrius Hayes who spent the last two years at Zalgiris, the Parisians have once again been on par with a European giant. Behind a TJ Shorts who was still well put together, Paris reached the break with a 4-point lead (40-36). After chasing away the powerful Panathinaikos European champion (84-80), Monaco champion of France (87-80), Berlin (92-83), Vitoria (67-65) and the formidable Partizan of Belgrade (74-71) in quick succession, Paris set out to win a 6th match.
This is the total that was predicted for him at the end of the season, after 34 matches and many even doubted that he would achieve it. “We approach matches in the right way and we stay focused on what we have to do,” said Bandja Sy in the locker room after the match. Euroleague teams are not used to our style of play which is not common. No one plays like us and we make the most of it. For the moment, that smiles on us and of course, we look at the ranking but we remain focused to continue working. »
In Barcelona to win
This is the recipe for success for this team which is currently almost indefatigable despite already having 17 games in hand. With two award-winning baskets coming from who knows where, from Shorts and Hifi, the French vice-champion club started the last 10 minutes with another 6 points in advance (62-56). Under the eyes of double Olympic gold and bronze judo medalist Maxime-Gaël Ngayap Hambou, Paris gritted its teeth in the money-time by increasing the gap to +13 (78-65, 37th). He melted (78-71, 38th) when Zalgiris realized that a third defeat in six games awaited him at the end of the evening.
As in every Euroleague match here for more than a month, the last minute was excruciating. But with a saving 3-point basket from Mikael Jantunen, Paris triumphed again. “Five wins in a row for a rookie club is a hell of a performance. It’s just crazy, smiles Yakuba Ouattara. We fight as a team, defensively everyone is focused. When there is no rotation, we lose nothing in intensity. We can do great things but we must not go too quickly. It’s only the beginning of the season.” The next stop is in Barcelona this Friday. “We’re going there to try to win,” insists Bandja Sy. Paris is no longer afraid of anything.
