If Paris Basketball, deprived of its star player TJ Shorts, lost against Real Madrid this Tuesday evening in the Euroleague (85-96), Monaco beat Bayern Munich (93-74) and Asvel managed to win on the field of Partizan Belgrade (79-82).
Deprived of three players including its leader TJ Shorts, Paris Basketball suffered a second defeat in a row in the Euroleague on Tuesday, at home against Real Madrid (96-85) which caused it to lose its place as sole leader.
The Parisians now share it with Monaco (11 wins for 5 losses), winners in the style of Bayern Munich (93-74) when they conceded their second European defeat at the Arena Porte de la Chapelle.
Paris did not have the depth of the bench nor the long-distance skill (11/38) to take the scalp of Real, even sluggish since the start of the season (6 v/9 d), far from its holder status record number of titles (11) and finalist over the last three seasons (victory in 2023).
The capital club suffered in the racket against the giant Walter Tavares (10 pts and 14 rebounds), particularly in the rebounding sector (31 holds to 49), and could only rely too little on the contribution of Tyson Ward (7 pts and 5 rebounds) and Collin Malcolm (11 pts and 5 rebounds) to support Maodo Lô (30 pts at 4/7 at 3 pts and 7 assists) and Nadir Hifi (21 pts but 3/11 at 3 pts).
The two wisps from behind several times allowed Paris, which almost never led, to get back into contact and glimpse a victory that would have been miraculous. Thus, an acrobatic shot from Hifi at the buzzer of the third quarter (67-70), then two consecutive winning arrows from the French international and Lô (78-80) made the Arena roar at just over three minutes of the siren. It was calmed down immediately by Facundo Campazzo (19 pts at 3/6 at 3 pts and 6 pd), the man of the evening with Tavares and Mario Hezonja (17 pts at 4/9 at 3 pts), who got their hands on the end of a folded match when Real took an 11-length lead with 1 min 30 sec remaining (91-80).
ASM and Asvel in master’s degree
Earlier in the evening, Monaco corrected (93-74) Bayern Munich, direct competitor for the podium, in its Gaston-Médecin room, signing its eleventh victory in 16 days.
This fourth success in five Euroleague days since the arrival of Vassilis Spanoulis at the head of the team on November 26 was built, under the eyes of Prince Albert, during an excellent match: 28-16 during the second quarter, 31-20 during the third, where Monaco put in place a quality collective game.
Finally, Asvel won a prestigious victory on the floor of Partizan Belgrade (82-79) for the 16th day of the Euroleague, ensuring its success in the money-time after a very balanced match. The Villeurbannais had a one-point lead 12 seconds from the end when Nando de Colo placed a three-point basket, to make a definitive break (80-76).
For a very long time, the French remained in the wake of the Serbs, yoyoing at a few points, never letting go but never in front either. The trend reversed at the buzzer of the third quarter, when Melvin Ajinça placed a winning basket to give the visitors a point lead (66-65) at the break. Pierric Poupet’s players then managed the fourth quarter with composure, taking up to six points in advance, thanks in particular to better collective efficiency on the rebound (41-29 over the entire match).
