Paris Basketball is relaunching. Having come very close to the feat on the floor of Olimpia Milan (79-74) Friday in the Euroleague, the Ile-de-France residents were on the move again this Sunday, this time at the Palais des Sports in Dijon, home of the JDA matches.
Authors of a mixed start to the season, with two setbacks on the European scene and a defeat on the national level, at Gravelines-Dunkirk, Tiago Splitter’s men did the job on the 4th day of Betclic Elite. Carried by a Nadir Hifi once again author of a full match (26 points, 4 rebounds, 2 interceptions, 0 turnover), the reigning French vice-champions won (83-97), not without having met some difficulties at the start of the game.
From delay to ignition
Tested by an insane schedule weighed down by the Euroleague, which the young Parisian team must learn to manage, the White and Black experienced a slight delay in starting against the 9th in the last French Championship. Trailing after the first fifteen minutes (23-22), TJ Shorts and his team even suffered a loss of five units in the heart of the second quarter (40-35). Taking advantage of their superiority in rebounding (17 offensive rebounds, 43 in total), the Parisians accelerated as the break approached, helped by the diversity of their shooters (four players with 10 points or more).
It was at the heart of the third part of the match that the difference was made, Paris Basketball having returned with better intentions from the locker room. After finishing the third quarter with a 13-point lead (74-61), the visitors were no longer caught. Untenable, Nadir Hifi caught fire, notably achieving a sequence of high quality with five consecutive points (79-67, 36th) before closing the affair with a final winning shot one minute from time (93-81, 39th).
Victorious for the third time in a row in the championship, the Ile-de-France residents move up to fourth place but will not be able to dwell on their success for long, since two continental shocks await them next week in the Euroleague: Paris will first host Panathinaikos on Tuesday at the Accor Arena (8:30 p.m.) before moving to the Bayern Munich floor on Thursday evening (8:45 p.m.).
