Paris Basketball topped Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 77-64 in Game 1 of the EuroCup Finals. A great performance by its guards and an outstanding team 

Paris guards, defense make the difference

Paris Basketball opened the BKT EuroCup finals with a 77-64 victory over Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse at Adidas Arena in the French capital thanks to a great performance by its guards and outstanding team defense.

The hosts simply rolled in the first half, claiming a 54-31 halftime lead, which was enough to control the game until the final buzzer. Paris's guards were on fire before halftime, as [T.J. Shorts](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/tj-shorts/012608/), [Sebastian Herrera](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/sebastian-herrera/012611/) and [Nadir Hifi](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/nadir-hifi/012640/) combined for exactly half of the team's first-half points.

Paris was held to just 23 second-half points but its defense allowed [Coach Tuomas Iisalo](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/teams/paris-basketball/prs/iisalo-tuomas/)'s team to keep a double-digit margin all the way until the final buzzer. Widely seen as an offensive-minded team, Coach Iisalo took the chance to talk about his team's defense in the press conference room.

"I think from the outside we are viewed as an offensive team but within the team, everybody knows that the defense and the rebounds, those are the real things that bring the consistency of results. And that's what you want to do if you want to be a great team," Coach Iisalo said. "The 33 points Bourg scored in the second half is a really low number, and it says a lot about our commitment to the defense because there were several situations where we turned it over and they had fastbreak situations, etc., and we were still able to keep a very good offensive team to 33 points. There were definitely some good things also in the second half."

TJ Shorts, Sebastian Herrera and Nadir Hifi combined for 39 points to lead Paris Basketball to a 77-61 home win over Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse in Game 1 of the BKT EuroCup Finals

Paris's guards stepped up in Game 1

Asked about it, Paris's star guards agreed that defense is the key to their system.

"We were aggressive at both ends of the floor. We know their plays and how to react against them and I think we had a good win," Herrera said. "Our fans did very well, helping us when we were doing well but also when we weren't doing that well, so I am happy about it."

"It is not just coming one day. We worked since August, but we enjoy playing together," Nadir added. "It doesn't matter offense or defense, I feel everybody is locked in and this is the most important thing for me."

"When you get stops and then you get a chance to run, it just feeds everybody's energy," Shorts said. "You feel even better when you take a shot because you just got the stop on one end. So it is an incredible feeling to just string stops together and turn that into offense."

Paris finished with the three guards scoring in double digits. Shorts led all scorers with 15 points, Hifi added 13 and Herrera 11. Shorts received his [2023-24 EuroCup MVP](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/news/bkt-eurocup-mvp-2023-24-t-j-shorts-paris-basketball/) award right before the game, and said he believes hearing "MVP" charts from the crowd inspired him.

Game News

"I will never get used to it. It is a feeling that every kid dreams of growing up. And I never take it for granted. So whenever the fans are cheering MVP, whenever people are congratulating me, I'm super thankful," Shorts said. "I'm super grateful because the journey I went on was it was not an easy one. So it is something that I would never take for granted. And I'll never get used to fans chanting MVP, it's great."

Herrera and Nadir agreed that it was an important win, but there is unfinished business and focusing on Game 2 on Friday is the only way forward.

"We sacrifice a lot in practice, working on defense to help every teammate and I think that was shown tonight," Herrera said. "But we haven't done anything yet. It is just one game. We need another win."

Iisalo is optimistic about his team's chances, believing that we haven't seen his team's full potential yet.

"We know our defense is going to give us wins. That's the most important part. After that, on offense we got what we wanted. We had options to shoot but defense is the most important thing for us," Hifi added. ""We've just got to do the job again on Friday."

"I don't know how many games we played this season, probably around 55 official games already. And we feel like we can still do it better," Coach Iisalo said. "We feel like as a group, that is something that defines us."

Game Videos

Paris topped Bresse 77-64 in Game 1 of the EuroCup Finals thanks to a great performance by its guards and outstanding team defense

Paris's guards, defense made the difference

Paris Basketball v Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (2024-04-09T18:30:00.000Z)

There was some optimism in the JL Bourg en Bresse locker room despite losing Game 1. 

Bourg learned lessons to help it in Game 2

The overwhelming message in the Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse locker room after falling to Paris Basketball in Game 1 of the BKT EuroCup Finals on Tuesday is that the team has what to work on. Mostly on defense.

“We have to focus on our defense,” Jequan Lewis said. “We kind of let them do whatever they want in the first half and they kind of got rolling, It’s tough to play a team like this on their home court. You have to be able to be on the same page and stop them early.”

His backcourt mate Axel Julien shared a similar sentiment: “We allowed a lot of one-on-one from Shorts and Hifi and we have to manage that and work on different situations. We had other problems, too, but that was one of our problems tonight.”

Their head coach, Frederic Fauthoux saw things a little differently. “We must play better on offense and we have to control the ball better. Nineteen turnovers is too much,” Fauthoux commented in the post-game press conference.

The next message, however, was that things will be different when Bourg hosts Game 2 at Ekinox on Friday.

“We have to forget \[about Game 1\], but work on the mistakes we made before Friday and come with better intentions to force Game 3,” Julien said. “The atmosphere is going to be so different. We will have the advantage in front of our fans. They enjoyed tonight this crowd and we will try to enjoy the moment on Friday.”

“We are just going to go to the lab tomorrow and prepare for the next game,” Lewis added. “We are going to compete. We are not a team that is going to roll over.”

Bourg showed a spark over the game’s last 16 minutes, when it outscored Paris 17-31. A new plan on defense, being a little more careful on offense, a boost from the crowd and renewed fighting spirit could be the exact recipe Bourg needs to extend the series and come back to Paris for Game 3.

There was some optimism in the Bourg locker room despite losing Game 1. 

Paris Basketball checked most of the boxes on its game plan to ease past Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 77-64 in Game 1 of the BKT EuroCup Finals at Adidas Arena in the French capital on Tuesday. 

Paris’s strong first half paved the way to Game 1 win

Paris Basketball checked most of the boxes on its game plan to ease past Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 77-64 in Game 1 of the BKT EuroCup Finals at Adidas Arena in the French capital on Tuesday. The hosts never trailed and led by as much as 60-33 early in the third quarter before a late Bourg push. Paris excelled on defense, used its defense to jump start its offense and controlled the paint.

Paris forced Bourg into 19 turnovers, while hounding the visiting team’s top shooters. The hosts collected 10 steals with TJ Shorts, Mehdy Ngouama and Justin Simon getting 2 each. The aggressive defense also kept Bourg’s best scorers off-balance as All-EuroCup selection Isiaha Mike misfired on all 7 three-pointers he attempted and EuroCup Rising Star Zaccharie Risacher was 0 for 5. As a team Bourg shot 4-for-24 (16.7%) from downtown.

Paris's strong D was critical in Game 1

When its defense was controlling the game, Paris dominated the pace en route to a 54-31 halftime advantage. It made two-thirds of its two-pointers in the first half, including 5 baskets off turnovers.   

“Obviously a great first half from us, amazing defensive intensity and honorable offensive play. We built a big lead,” Paris head coach Tuomas Iisalo said after the game.

Bourg actually outrebounded Paris 33-42, with 16 of those coming on the offensive end. However, despite those numbers, Paris scored 15 second-chance points, which were 4 more than Bourg. The visitors took advantage of Paris seeking to run and crashed the boards, but in the end it did not make a major impact.

Michael Kessens, who had a season-high 7 rebounds in 14 minutes for Paris, was the game’s leading rebounder.  

Forcing 19 turnovers and stopping Bourg’s shooters proved to be keys to the win

Paris overpowers Bourg 77-64 in Game 1 of finals

Paris was the best team all season and proved it with a no-doubt-about-it 77-64 victory over Bourg in Game 1 and now needs just one more victory to become the BKT EuroCup champion. Freshly-crowned MVP TJ Shorts led the way with 15 points and 4 assists – both game highs. Nadir Hifi scored 13 despite some shooting struggles and Sebastien Herrera contributed 11 points for the winners. EuroCup Rising Star Zaccharie Risacher scored 11 for Bourg, which impressed with a strong fourth quarter. And Jequan Lewis added 10 in defeat.

Paris was fully focused throughout the first quarter with the only exception allowing too many offensive rebounds. Bourg only managed to trade baskets; the visitors started 0 of 8 from downtown. After 10 minutes, it was 23-11, with Paris owning Bourg in terms of speed, focus and intensity.

Lewis buried Bourg's first three on his team's first play of the second quarter and repeated it on the next one, hitting a long three-pointer in transition. Paris coach Tuomas Iisalo stopped the game right away. Shorts and Herrera got back on track and Hifi's three-pointer gave Paris a new game-high lead, 33-17, midway through the second quarter. Shorts, Hifi and Herrera combined for 27 first-half points as Paris extended the lead to 54-31 at the break.

Paris held Bourg scoreless for over 4 minutes after the break, playing with added physicality. Mikael Jantunen, in particular, drew a huge charging foul. Even though it wasn't pretty, it was a very positive third quarter for Paris, which kept a big lead and got closer to the victory. Nevertheless, Bourg got stops and found more open shots, which is a good sign for Game 2 on Friday. The score was 65-43 entering the fourth.

Bourg continued to fight on defense and slowed the pace down in the final quarter, during which it outscored Paris 12-21 and gave its fans reasons to hope for Game 2.

EuroCup MVP TJ Shorts led the way with 15 points and 4 assists for the winners. 

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Paris take Game 1✔️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RoadToGreatness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RoadToGreatness</a> I <a href="https://twitter.com/ParisBasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ParisBasketball</a> <a href="https://t.co/XPLQQFN0vH">pic.twitter.com/XPLQQFN0vH</a></p>&mdash; BKT EuroCup (@EuroCup) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroCup/status/1777796012901294552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Game 2 of the best-of-three series will be on Friday

Game center: Paris beat Bourg 77-64 in EuroCup Finals opener

JL Bourg duo Isiaha Mike and Zaccharie Risacher could not hide their excitement ahead of the EuroCup Finals against Paris Basketball.

Bourg's Zaccharie Risacher, Isiaha Mike are ready to shine in the EuroCup Finals 

The BKT EuroCup Finals are upon us, with an all-French affair seeing Paris Basketball host Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse at Adidas Arena in Game 1 tonight, and the visiting side's forward duo [Isiaha Mike](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/isiaha-mike/011836/) and [Zaccharie Risacher](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/zaccharie-risacher/010718/) have not hidden their excitement.

Few expected Bourg to be where it is today, preparing for the EuroCup Finals. But the team playing in its fourth consecutive season in the competition took it one step at the time, plowing through all the obstacles, and will now fight for the EuroCup crown.

"It means everything, it is a big accomplishment for everybody," Risacher tells Javier Gancedo of EuroCupBasketball.net. "It means a lot for all my teammates, all the coaches and the city. It is a great thing for us."

### Risacher's big goal

Risacher, who turned 19 a day before Game 1, is a freshly crowned EuroCup Rising Star award winner. And as much as he is pleased with the honor, he has something even bigger on his mind.

"It is cool, I am glad I won \[the Rising Star award\], but I am not going to lie, I want to win the final, that's all that matters to me right now," Risacher says. "It's the best \[birthday\] gift I could ever wish for."

Watch the rest of the interview below to catch Risacher's comments on preparing for Game 1 against Paris.

The thoughts of Bourg forward Zaccharie Risacher ahead of Game 1 of the EuroCup Finals.

Zaccharie Risacher, Bourg: 'It's the best gift I could ever wish for'

His teammate, Isiaha Mike, has been Bourg's leader in scoring (12.8 ppg.), and has been voted to the All-EuroCup First Team.

"I am honored, honestly," Mike states about the All-EuroCup honor. "This year has been tremendous, we had a really good season so far."

The next step to making the season even better is by beating Paris in the finals.

### The key to beating Paris

"They have a really tight-knit group, their chemistry is at an all-time high," Mike notes about Bourg's finals opponent. "But I feel like if we slow their transition and keep them off the offensive glass, they are going to have trouble."

Mike does not hide his excitement about playing in the final series.

"This is what we live for, this is what we dream for," he says. "A lot of hours in the gym, and now we have a chance to lift the trophy. Hopefully, we can get it done."

Watch the rest of the interview with Isiaha Mike below.

Isiaha Mike has been Bourg's leader in scoring (12.8 ppg.), and has been voted to the All-EuroCup First Team. He spoke with Javier Gancedo ahead of Game 1 of the EuroCup Finals.

Isiaha Mike, Bourg: 'This is what we live for'

The EuroCup Rising Star and Bourg forward caught up with Javier Gancedo ahead of Game 1.


The day after letting coach Carles Duran go, Joventut Badalona announced Dani Miret as its new head coach until the end of the 2025-26 season.

Dani Miret is new Joventut boss until 2026

A Badalona native, the 39-year-old Miret came to age in the renowned youth system of Joventut, where he has been coaching since 2007, including at least one season in all categories. He won many titles and accolades in the youth categories of Spanish basketball. Miret was also Duran's assistant coach during the 2028-19 season in the first team and he was also the head coach of CB Prat, Joventut's affiliated team, with which he earned promotion to the Spanish second division.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ca" dir="ltr">💥 Dani Miret, nou entrenador del Club Joventut Badalona<br><br>🤝 La Penya i el tècnic badaloní han arribat a un acord fins al 2026 en la que és una aposta per un projecte a llarg termini amb Miret com a entrenador<br><br>ℹ️ La notícia: <a href="https://t.co/gjoM8piWia">https://t.co/gjoM8piWia</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Badalona%C3%89sFutur?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BadalonaÉsFutur</a> <a href="https://t.co/4U0aq12zeZ">pic.twitter.com/4U0aq12zeZ</a></p>&mdash; Club Joventut Badalona (@Penya1930) <a href="https://twitter.com/Penya1930/status/1777718510715560173?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Miret also has experience with the younger categories of the Spanish national team, including a gold medal with the U19 team at the most recent FIBA Basketball World Championship.

Check out the Game 1 predictions from EuroCupbasketball.com staff members for the BKT EuroCup Finals between Paris Basketball and Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse.

Finals, Game 1 predictions: Paris vs. Bourg

### Paris gets off to the perfect start

#### *by Geoff Gillingham*

Paris is a near-perfect 20-1 in the BKT EuroCup this season, including 3-0 in the postseason, and I firmly believe that it will go 1-0 up in the best-of-three finals against Bourg on Tuesday night. There has been almost no stopping Tuomas Iisalo's men in EuroCup play in 2023-24, with TJ Shorts and Nadir Hifi both playing at an All-EuroCup level, and Paris should move another step closer towards a place in next year's Turkish Airlines EuroLeague by coming out on top at Adidas Arena. In the French League, Bourg actually came out on top against Paris in their only previous meeting this season, winning 83-81 at Ekinox in mid-December, but Paris's fast-paced play will be too much for Tuesday's visitors to deal with in Game 1. My pick: Paris.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="fr" dir="ltr">LE PARIS BASKETBALL EST EN FINALE DE L’EUROCUP 😍😍😍😍😍 <a href="https://t.co/nUTatGmSvP">pic.twitter.com/nUTatGmSvP</a></p>&mdash; Paris Basketball (@ParisBasketball) <a href="https://twitter.com/ParisBasketball/status/1773828146283827438?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

### Paris starts the series on the right foot

#### *by Frankie Sachs*

It's a good thing we don't call this Bold Predictions. Because the only bold pick would be a Bourg victory. And sadly for the good people in Bourg-en-Bresse, I don't see that happening. Paris has the best player in the series (T.J. Shorts), the home-court advantage, the more dangerous offense, which are just some of the reasons I expect the Parisians to take the series opener. I would not count Bourg out; it has already defeated Paris in the French League this season and has nothing to lose. But the opener should belong to the home team. My pick: Paris by double figures.

Isiaha Mike, Bourg: "This is what we live for"

### Rolling the dice on brave Bourg 

#### *by Frank Lawlor*

Thanks to scoring and winning in record-setting fashion, Paris is the clear – some would say overwhelming – favorite in this series. That also means that Paris has all the pressure in Game 1, while Bourg has none. Playing poised and alert to prevent Paris surges – easier said than done – Bourg can stay in the game. And should that work through three quarters, the pressure will really build on the Parisians. Rising Star winner Zaccharie Risacher has looked passive in the playoffs until now, otherwise Bourg's chances would seem better, since he can be quite a mismatch. But this all-French series, with familiar surroundings, short travel and an offensive-minded opponent, should be quite different from Bourg's semifinal with Besiktas. Everyone, including Risacher, should be in their comfort zone. Bourg is the only team that Paris has played but not beaten this season. Bourg has repeatedly thrived on being underestimated, and I think the visitors can do so again on Tuesday. My pick: Bourg 

### Paris proves its status of a favorite 

#### *by Igor Petrinovic*

What a great story Bourg has been. I wonder if anyone believed they would be in the EuroCup Finals. Even if the team was plowing through its regular season group and leading the standings, it almost felt like they were the underdogs in many eyes, even in these playoffs. But here Bourg is, deservedly, in the best-of-three final series. But as much as I love what Bourg has done this season, I am going with Paris in the series opener. The team from the French capital has been hands-down impressive this season. Its 20-1 record and average winning margin of 19.1 points speak volumes. It is going to be a fun, but I say that Paris's offense will find a way to deal with Bourg's defense on Tuesday. My pick: Paris.

Paris Basketball guard TJ Shorts spoke to Javier Gancedo of EuroCupBasketball.net ahead of Game 1 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Finals.

TJ Shorts, Paris: ‘Hopefully we can do something special’

### Paris keeps it rolling 

#### *by Javier Gancedo*

Paris faces the only team it has not been able to beat this season, as head coach Tuomas Iisalo pointed out before Game 1. Indeed, Bourg beat Paris at home in French League action, their only matchup so far this season. It is a whole different situation now. Paris has the home-court advantage and is still undefeated in the brand-new Adidas Arena, five victories in as many games. TJ Shorts was announced as the EuroCup MVP hours before the game, and that should give him a big boost to play even better. I believe Paris will be able to impose its basketball ways: strong, really well-organized defense and a free-flowing offense in which many players can score in many different ways. So I predict that Paris will get one step closer to the EuroCup title. My pick: Paris. 

Paris Basketball duo TJ Shorts and Tyson Ward are bullish ahead of their team's chances against JL Bourg in the 2023-24 EuroCup Finals.

Paris’s TJ Shorts, Tyson Ward feeling confident ahead of EuroCup Finals

The BKT EuroCup Finals have arrived, with Paris Basketball hosting Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse at Adidas Arena in Game 1 this Tuesday night. For Paris duo [TJ Shorts](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/tj-shorts/012608/) and [Tyson Ward](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/players/tyson-ward/012610/), they are optimistic about their team’s chances.

Ward is one of six Paris players, as well as head coach Tuomas Iisalo, who lifted the Basketball Champions League title with Telekom Baskets Bonn last season, so they now have the chance to lift back-to-back continental trophies, something the American forward relishes.

“It feels surreal. For a couple of guys, it’s a chance to win another international tournament,” Ward tells Javier Gancedo of [EuroCupBasketball.net](http://EuroCupBasketball.net). “For a couple of guys, it’s a first time to be in the championship \[games\]. It’s super exciting for me, it’s super exciting for the guys, so we’re looking forward to it, for sure.”

### Paris's its style of play

Paris has made waves right across Europe with its high-paced, exciting brand of basketball this season, which Ward believes is one of the team’s key strengths.

“It’s our identity,” he states. “That fast-paced game is hard to keep up with, but it’s about how well we can get them out of their spots and make them as uncomfortable as possible. That’s our goal for everybody and that’s how we’re going to do it.”

Watch the rest of the interview below.

Paris Basketball forward Tyson Ward spoke to Javier Gancedo of EuroCupBasketball.net ahead of Game 1 of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup Finals.

Tyson Ward, Paris: ‘It would be crazy, surreal’

Curiously, Bourg defeated Paris 83-81 at Ekinox in the French League back in December, meaning Coach Iisalo’s men are 0-1 against Tuesday night’s opponent. Yet, Shorts insists that there’s no added motivation to avenge that defeat.

“I don’t think it’s any extra motivation,” he states. “If you’re still looking for motivation at this point in the season, it’s probably too late. We know they got us in the French League – we’ll be prepared, we know they’re a really good team. They’ve got great pieces, they’re intense on the defensive side, so we know that they’ll be ready for us and we’ll be ready for them.”

### A chance at history

Just in its sixth season as a club, Paris has the chance to lift its second trophy in club history if it goes all the way in the EuroCup. Earlier this season, Coach Iisalo’s men beat Nanterre 90-85 in the French Cup final to secure Paris’s first-ever title, with Shorts earning MVP honors in the final. He would certainly sign up for a similar outcome against Bourg.

“I’m more than looking forward to \[the EuroCup Finals\],” Shorts comments. “Any chance you get to play in a final, you can’t take those moments for granted, so I’m just grateful to be able to be in yet another final this season with Paris and hopefully we can do something special and get that ticket to the EuroLeague.”

Watch the rest of the interview below.

The EuroCup MVP and Paris forward caught up with Javier Gancedo before Game 1