It's now official: Paris Basketball, EuroLeague version, is no longer a surprise. After five victories in a row, the capital club presented itself to FC Barcelona to pass a final test, that of finding out if it is already one of the greats of Europe at the start of the season. And the answer is yes, with a new show of force at the Palau Blaugrana (87-103), to sign a 6th victory in a row.
Paris, the hottest team of the moment in the EuroLeague!
Paris Basketball players will be able to give advice to some former PSG players on how to finish a match in Barcelona… Because in the Catalan city, Tiago Splitter's team started and finished their game perfectly. From the outset, the Parisians showed FC Barcelona, co-leader of the EuroLeague before the match, that it was going to have to find new resources to overcome the fast-paced game and Parisian intensity. But without an outside address in the first period (1/10 at 3-points in MT1), Paris saw Barça go back in front at half-time (48-45).
Except that to cast doubt on this Paris team, you need much more than the precision of Juan Nunez (15 points at 6/8 on shots) and Alex Abrines (11 points including 3/5 at 3-points), as well as the versatility of Jabari Parker (19 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists). Very happy to see a Kevin Punter silent as rarely (4 points at 1/7 on shots), T.J. Shorts (24 points at 7/11 on shots, 9 assists) and his partners decided to steal his favorite period, the last quarter (17-30), to sound the death knell for FC Barcelona. Firing on all cylinders in the last quarter (5/7 at 3-points, 9/23 in the end), even the discreet Maodo Lo since the start of the season (20 points at 7/14 on shots), Paris quite simply ended up disgusting the Barcelona residents (87-103) who never knew how to recover from a new period of ten prodigious minutes, after the first inaugural decade.
Thus, Paris completes an idyllic 10th day of EuroLeague for French clubs, after the victories of Monaco and ASVEL the day before. A winning trio that the Parisian club obviously dominates with its fantastic start to the season (7 wins – 3 losses), making its debut in the EuroLeague, for only its 7th season of existence. From ambitious rookie to explosive surprise, will Paris become a contender for the playoffs? After almost a third of the regular season has passed, he can in any case claim it!
