Too strong OK, but far from being sovereign during a first half made exciting by the precise and valiant Béarnais as we like them, although torpedoed in the last minute by whistles from another century .
The editorial team advises you
After defying the hierarchy and capsizing Limoges and Strasbourg, the first two residents of the Elite, in the 32nd and 16th finals, the Parisian obstacle proved logically insurmountable. The Béarnais will not see the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France for a fourth year in a row, but who can blame them!
The 3-point avalanche
This Tuesday evening, in a Palais des sports filled with as many curious people eager to discover with their own eyes the European sensation carried by this champagne Basketball which characterizes it, this “organized chaos” as Léo Cavalière likes to describe it, as supporters who fed the secret hope of seeing their protégés take advantage of the initial 7-0 as a launching pad towards a resounding feat, no one was disappointed. A noisy and warm Palace which was a pleasure to see, and which for a long time played its role of sixth man feeling, for twenty minutes, his team capable of carrying out the heist of the century.
Paris, expected in Belgrade to face Red Star on Friday before returning to the capital for three receptions (Bourg on Sunday, Efes Istanbul on Tuesday 14 and Maccabi Tel-Aviv on Thursday 16) had brought out the big team but actually had to scrapped a big half before delivering, at 3 points, the fatal blow. “We played with our weapons, without pressure, but there is a world of difference, it’s a washing machine,” Matthieu Missonnier easily agreed at the end of the evening.
The Palois were brave but had to deal with a massacre of injured people (Hadi, Ledlum, Ndiaye, Curier), and therefore only eight pros to put on the scales, including Christian Eyenga, who only arrived last weekend for a freelance a month.
Leo's premiere
For his first appearance in green and white, the 35-year-old Congolese interior worked like a devil, proving that he could bring an interesting cost to the collective, before having to leave the floor weighed down with 5 faults from the start. 28th while the Parisians continued their three-point festival with this surreal 10 out of 16 in the third quarter alone!
It was also Léo Cavalière's fourth return to Béarn since he left his formative nest in 2020. And for the first time, he left the visiting locker room as a winner, celebrated like a hero in the center of the floor by his former audience . “A part of my heart is here, I wish them only the best,” said the former member of the green house.
As for Enzo Shahrvin, also trained in Pau before joining Paris last season, he took advantage of this Cup match to stretch his legs by enjoying real playing time (14 minutes), which he does not This is generally not the case in the Euroleague and only sparsely in the championship.
Now closed, this Coupe de France parenthesis can leave the field open to serious business, namely this daily life of the championship which resumes on Friday with, for the Palois, a trip to Savoie which will serve as a first test against this surprising team from Aix -Maurienne, the only one installed in a 5th rank that Elan still aims to reach.
