The EuroCup Group A winner has every chance to surpass last year’s accomplishment.
High-flying Paris seems ready to take the next step
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Founded in 2018, Paris Basketball has gone from strength to strength in recent years before enjoying a near-perfect run in this season’s BKT EuroCup, having finished the regular season with a 17-1 record which earned the French side the top spot in Group A and with it an automatic quarterfinal berth.
Paris capped its regular-season campaign with a spectacular 119-66 home win over Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana, striking primal fear into the hearts of its potential quarterfinal rivals. Having reached the last eight last term, beating 7bet-Lietkabelis 97-98 in the eighthfinals before losing 104-74 at eventual champion Dreamland Gran Canaria, Paris now appears set to go at least a step further.
In fact, Paris will head into the playoffs as the favorite to win the first trophy in the club’s history, having secured home-court advantage all the way to the EuroCup Finals.
Tyson Ward, who was named player of the game after a stellar performance against Cedevita garnished by 20 points, 3 rebounds and as many assists, was mobbed by his teammates before he shared his delight in a flash post-game interview.
“It’s definitely a great way to end the [regular] season in this last time in this gym," said Ward. "It’s definitely something to build on heading into the playoffs. I am super proud of everybody and the top spot is what we’ve worked so hard for throughout the regular season.
"It gives us enough time to work on the things that we need to work on and prepare for these big games coming up. A lot of us have not been in this situation before and then again a lot of us have.”
Paris head coach Tuomas Iisalo was overjoyed with his team’s commitment and intensity. “For 40 minutes, the goal was to focus on our identity and I also think we can be really proud of the team’s growth throughout the regular season,” he said.
“It was a very difficult group and our record speaks volumes how much work the guys have put in. We’ve put ourselves in a good position but the playoffs, as we all know, is a different animal. There is almost no room for error.”
On a night when Paris simply blew Cedevita away, it proved to be the perfect farewell to the Halle Georges Carpentier gym, as the club prepares to embark upon a new era at Adidas Arena.