Paris Basketball collapses in Vitoria

Paris Basketball was knocked down by Vitoria (94-81) on Friday, during the 18th day of the Euroleague, and let go of the head of the ranking while Bologna ended Asvel’s series (83-69) . With 57 points scored at the break and a lead of 19 points at the start of the third quarter, the Parisians thought they had assured their success in the Basque Country.

But under the leadership of Markus Howard (28 pts) and Chima Moneke (29 pts), Vitoria regained the advantage seven minutes from time and never let it go, in a game where the Parisians gradually let their address slip away. .

Lost address

With this defeat, the third in a row in the Euroleague, Paris (11 wins, 6 losses) falls to third place in the standings, behind Monaco and Olympiakos who have one more success.

In a room where Parisian coach Tiago Splitter shone as a player, winning two Spanish championship titles with Vitoria before leaving to play in the NBA, the Parisians first suffered the breakthroughs of Moneke, to the tune of 11 points. in the first quarter. TJ Shorts and his teammates, masters of fast play, were able to respond to the Basques to inflict a 31-13 in the second quarter and take a 16-point lead at the break.

But everything gradually went wrong after returning from the locker room. The 16-point lead melted to 8 at the end of the third quarter (72-64). The Parisians then completely lost their skill, scoring only nine points in the last quarter and finishing the game at just 11/36 at three points.

In Bologna, Asvel also lost. Falling for the Parisians last Sunday in the championship, Pierric Poupet’s players never returned to their game. Their series of six consecutive successes, including three in the Euroleague, ended on Friday.

Still deprived of Joffrey Lauvergne, the Villeurbanais chased the score throughout the game, scoring only seven small points in the first quarter (17-7). At only 2/10 from three points and with 11 turnovers at the break, the visitors were logically trailing by 17 points (46-29). Faced with a team which until then had only four wins in 17 Euroleague matches, Asvel was unable to reverse the trend upon returning from the locker room, despite Théo Maledon’s 20 points.