They remained in front of the screens at the scorer’s table for many minutes. To check and recheck the action again, to find out if the Parisians would be able to benefit from one last possession to achieve the miracle. Ultimately the referees judged that the ball should go to Bayern Munich. Paris Basketball had undoubtedly just missed its chance.
A few moments later, the referees whistled the end of the game, of the fight. At the end of a terrible and indecisive duel lasting almost 2h30, Tiago Splitter’s players had to admit defeat (109-107), Thursday evening, on the floor of the SAP Garden in Munich for the 4th day of the Euroleague , the prestigious basketball competition of the old continent. But the blow didn’t go far.
Two days after having achieved a first success and creating a sensation by dominating Panathinaikos of Athens (84-80), defending champion in the Euroleague, the Parisians were very close to signing a new feat in the premier competition.
Trailing by ten lengths due to guilty defensive generosity (42-32, 16th), Tyson Ward’s partners (18 points) gradually closed their gap to get back into a tie 5 minutes from the buzzer (89-89, 35th) . The suspense was unbearable. TJ Shorts piled up baskets and a three-pointer from Nadir Hifi allowed Paris Basketball to stay in ambush 10 seconds from the end (108-107).
Excited, the Parisians took advantage of poorly managed possession by the Germans to claim the match point. There were a handful of seconds left when TJ Shorts, untenable with 22 points and 8 assists in the end, slipped between the German defenders before trying to fly towards the circle. But the Parisian pocket leader saw his ball roll around the circle before falling outside.
“I’m sad for TJ, he’s a leader, an exceptional player,” the Parisian coach confided on Skweek, the broadcaster. But our defense was not up to par. We will have to improve in this area for the rest of the season. » The Parisians may indeed regret too lax defense, in particular on Shabazz Napier (27 pts, 6 out of 10 at 3 pts) and Carsten Edwards (32 pts, 6 out of 8 at 3 pts).
Paris Basketball, which is discovering the intensity and hellish pace of the Euroleague this season, is at the bottom of the rankings with 1 success after 4 days. After this European sequence, they will return to the Betclic Elite on Sunday with a still hot Paris region derby against Nanterre at the Accor Arena.
