The Bourg veteran is aiming to become the oldest EuroCup champion ever.

E.J. Rowland, Bourg: 'Never thought I'd be playing this long'

E. J. Rowland is back in the BKT EuroCup after a seven-year absence, and at age 40, he could become the oldest competition champion ever if Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse goes all the way.

 

Rowland first played in the EuroCup almost 17 years ago, debuting with German side Artland Dragons on November 6, 2007, to score 10 points against Pau-Orthez, coincidentally the lifelong club of his current coach, Frederic Fauthoux.

 

"For a lot of Americans that come to Europe, we don't really understand the dynamics of EuroLeague or EuroCup, the different leagues and domestic leagues," Rowland recalled. "We were all just really young and just hungry to achieve something in our careers. So much time has passed, but I can still remember moments."

 

Bourg is Rowland's sixth team in the EuroCup. Between his debut and 2017, he also played for VEF Riga of Latvia, Banvit Bandirma of Turkey, Khimki Moscow Region of Russia and Hapoel Jerusalem of Israel for a total of 109 career games. He ranks sixth all-time among EuroCup scorers with 1,275 points and seventh with 387 assists.

 

Despite all his previous tried, this is his first EuroCup Finals and Rowland is excited to be in it with Bourg.

"I hope everybody understands the opportunity that's in front of us. It's special."

"I'm happy to be back playing at a high level. I feel good mentally. I feel good physically and it's great being a part of a good team," Rowland said. "We actually have a chance to win something, and I have said that since like the first couple of weeks that I joined the team. So, it's cool to see it come to fruition."

 

It is an unexpected opportunity. After playing the 2016-17 EuroCup with Khimki, Rowland went on to play in Turkey, Spain, Iran, Israel and Poland before returning to the competition with Bourg, who signed him as an injury substitute back in October and a month later extended his contract through the end of this season.

 

All of a sudden, Rowland is closer than ever before to the EuroCup title.

 

"At the beginning of your career, you just think that these opportunities are going to come all the time, right? And I have been on some really good teams that I felt had the chance to get a title. But different things happen, whether it's injuries or running into a team that's playing really well at the right time, or just teams not having the chemistry," Rowland said. "And so I noticed from the first couple of weeks I was here, I thought, 'We have talent, we have good chemistry, unselfishness, a lot of the qualities that you need. And it won't be easy, but as long as we are in the moment and take it game by game, we would have a chance.'"

E.J. Rowland of Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse: age 40 and still going strong!

2023-24 EuroCup highlights: E.J. Rowland, Bourg

Rowland's previous biggest EuroCup title shot came in 2015, when Banvit played the semifinals against a Khimki team led by Tyrese Rice, Petteri Koponen and Paul Davis. It was a two-way series and Banvit won the first leg but lost on points differential on an aggregate score of 175-172. Khimki went on to take the title.

 

"We lost by such a narrow margin in Khimki. It was a missed opportunity," he recalled. "So being in this moment now is just like, 'Wow, this is nice.' I hope everybody understands the opportunity that's in front of us. It's special."

"A title at this stage would be a cherry on top."

While he was away from the competition, Rowland developed his own clothing company, GRRR, with friends, a small project that is growing every year.

 

"We were interested in creating clothes for ourselves and our close friends, but it started to expand and obviously through me being playing internationally, it's starting to grow some legs and catch some eyes," he said. "It really just represents going after what you want in life. So the motto is 'Attack life in full pursuit of your dreams'. So whether you as a journalist or me as a basketball player, we make sacrifices to be great at what we do, whether it's spending extra time, staying up late, going above and beyond to be successful. And so I feel like that relates to everyone."

 

Even though he has GRRR to fall back on, joining Bourg at age 40 was not a tough decision for Rowland.

 

"I never thought I'd be playing this long, but I still love it. And I still have a competitive spirit. And going into the gym every day, I still like to compete. I still like being around the guys," Rowland said. "I'm lucky that I found this situation because it's just great people throughout the organization. At my age, those are things that matter most."

Despite losing the Game 1 to Paris Basketball on the road, Bourg has the chance to tie the series at home in Game 2 on Friday. If Bourg were to beat Paris twice, Rowland would become the oldest player to ever win the competition. Oliver Stevic was with 39 years, 4 months and 12 days old when he lifted the trophy with Dreamland Gran Canaria last season. Rowland turns 41 years old next month.

 

"Man, it would be amazing to get a title at this stage," he said. "That would just that would be a cherry on top."

Paris Basketball and Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse are making history for French basketball. For the first time, two French teams are facing each other in a European final. And when two opponents from the same country are facing off, you can expect the unexpected.

That’s the story so far in the EuroCup Finals.

[MORE...](https://www.eurohoops.net/en/trademarks/1657177/eurocup-home-court-does-not-decide-the-civil-wars/)

This is the third time that a BKT EuroCup Finals has been a one-country affair, and in the past, the home-court advantage was pretty much irrelevant

EuroCup: Home court does not decide the ‘civil wars’

The Paris head coach touches on the importance of defense, his methods and potentially reaching the EuroLeague

Tuomas Iisalo explains the keys to Paris’s success

It’s advantage Paris Basketball in the BKT EuroCup Finals, [having beaten Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse 77-64 in Game 1](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/game-center/2023-24/paris-basketball-mincidelice-jl-bourg-en-bresse/U2023/195/) on Tuesday night. Tuomas Iisalo’s squad has earned rave reviews for the offensive brand of basketball it has played this season, but the Finnish tactician believes that everything starts with the team’s defense.

In Game 1, Bourg was limited to just 43 points through the first three quarters, with Paris leading 65-43. Paris leads the EuroCup in scoring this year (97.4 ppg.), but its third-ranked defense (78.6 ppg.) is what pleases its head coach the most. Many consider Paris to be an offense-driven team but not Coach Iisalo, who agreed with Javier Gancedo of [EuroCupBasketball.com](http://EuroCupBasketball.com) that defense is the key to the French side’s success.

“Very few people agree with that, but I do. And if you ask our players, they will also say the same thing,” Coach Iisalo said. “Defense is the one thing that I feel separates the really great teams from the good teams.

“I think it sets up everything; in defense, you build the team chemistry, you build the trust. Defense is a little bit more, let's say, structured, in my opinion, than offense. You obviously need both, but a lot of people, when they see our teams, they think about offense first. However, to be a great team you have to be very good on both ends.”

Obviously, all coaches want their teams to have a good defense, yet the Paris boss understands that by honing in on defense, it creates bonds and chemistry that allow the players to benefit on the other end of the floor.

“We have a very specific way of playing defense and everything is to maximize the work rate of each individual,” the 41-year-old explained. “Everything is done to maximize all the decisions we make and to maximize the teamwork component.”

### Molding a style

These days, Iisalo does not have to worry so much about financial restrictions at Paris, but it hasn’t always been that way. When he started out at Tapiolan Honka in Finland and went to the Crailsheim Merlins in Germany, in particular, there were limitations that meant his teams had to think outside the box in order to succeed. Even at fellow German side Telekom Baskets Bonn, a sizeable financial gap existed between Iisalo’s roster and the players that Turkish Airlines EuroLeague duo ALBA Berlin and FC Bayern Munich could afford.

It was therefore his desire to find a way to reduce this financial inequality, which was achieved by a playing style that has now earned rave reviews right across the continent.

“We thought the only way we can get to this is not to put talent against talent, but we can put five-man units or lineups against other teams that rely on talent and make them compete against us on our terms,” he reflected.

“A couple of those things was to speed them up, to have them enter kind of our training methods instead of being in theirs. And the other things being like, ‘Okay, they might have two players that both make one million a year and we have a team that's making 400,000 combined, but together we can play better than they can.’

“We developed those and little by little, we went to clubs that had a little bit bigger budget each time, like let's say a moderate rise from Crailsheim to Bonn, from Bonn to Paris. We noticed that when we have even better talent and more professional players, it gives a boost to the overall idea.”

Like all good leaders, Iisalo is more than happy to take on new ideas, especially if they can improve the overall product. One such example came from his brother, while he also encourages his players to voice their concerns if they see an issue with something; everything is geared towards finding a way to improve.

“There was a suggestion by my brother against Bayern with the \[Andrea\] Trinchieri teams because we were getting killed on the short roll,” he comments. “And we designed this – nobody had really done this type of system. We had a problem and suddenly we were like, ‘Hey, actually, this works really well also in other situations.’ There is a problem, then we figure out a solution. And it kind of evolves after that.

“But we always said to the players, ‘If you find a weakness in our thinking, you have to tell us.’ You have to tell everybody because that's the only way we can fix it. And by giving up this ego, you know, and this position of having to be right, we can be stronger. It's kind of like an antidote. The more we see something, the more we’re like, ‘Okay, if we fix this, that can't hurt us anymore. And we are stronger now as a system and as a team.’”

Iisalo’s playing days came to an end 10 years ago, when he was just 31, so he can still put himself in the mind of a player. The benefit to that is he has a better idea of the type of things that can aid his roster when it comes to getting better.

Paris Basketball Top Plays from 10/01/2023 to 04/11/2024

Paris Basketball's top plays in the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup season

### Players carrying notebooks

One such idea that he introduced was getting his players to carry around a notebook with them. This is a way of being able to jot things down during the season and be one step ahead of the competition, particularly when practice time is at a minimum.

“Yeah, we started this tradition in maybe the 2021 season,” Iisalo comments. “The only real superpower is learning faster than the others. In this profession, you have about six weeks in the preseason to get your sh\*t together as a team and have everybody on the same page. It’s a very, very short amount of time.

“Every year we start with giving out the notebooks, going through the rules. I know I'm a very fast learner in many things, you know, but I can't learn anything that I don't write down. I forget it right away. And the best part of that is when you write it down, that's the moment where you learn because you have to really think, ‘Wait, what am I writing?’ It’s similar to writing an essay or an idea or a book. And we encourage them to put it in their own words and to have just that memory of writing it, and then they can go back to this.”

For Iisalo, his only wish is that he had a notebook to write his thoughts after practices during his time as a player. There is a potential downside, though: coming up against a player who has been jotting these things down over the years, as is the case with Bourg’s Jeremy Morgan, who spent two years playing under the Finnish tactician at Bonn between 2021 and 2023.

“One thing that's apparent is that no matter how well you start off the season, it's always the best teams that are the ones that improve the most during the season. So it's just about finding different ways to help the players learn the stuff that we are trying to do as a team," Iisalo stressed. 

### The EuroLeague dream

All of this work, all of this preparation is geared towards one thing: getting Paris into the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. There is a confidence about Iisalo, particularly with his team 1-0 up in the finals, but he’s determined to not get too ahead of himself.

“I would be lying if those didn't cross my mind every now and then,” he responded when asked about seeing himself in next season’s EuroLeague. “But the best long-term preparation is to prepare well in the short term. We're doing the same thing we started in August, which is just doing everything that we can in order to be better tomorrow than we were today and better in the next game than the previous one. It sounds super boring because just like rinse and repeat, but it fits very well.

“Nevertheless, it's a dream \[to get to the EuroLeague\]. It's not a not-so-distant dream anymore. We are close, but also very far. And during the season, you are in a tunnel and there's no real time to start breathing or start enjoying any success, but you just keep chugging along. And then at some point, when the last time the buzzer goes off, then you can evaluate what you've done and you can start thinking about the future.

“I think Bill Belichick said it great when \[his New England Patriots team\] won the Super Bowl and said, ‘Yeah, well, great. We are now one month late on the draft process.’ So the more successful you are, the less time you have to prepare. And if we were to move up to the EuroLeague, it would mean that, ‘Okay, now we’ve graduated to a whole new set of challenges and we’ve got to find ways to compete even better.’ But that's what you look for as a competitor and, really, we have a lot of those in our team. Not just players, but also in the staff."

The first Chilean to ever play at the top levels in Europe, Sebastian Herrera continues to represent his homeland while reaching new heights


Sebastian Herrera, Paris: 'I want to bring the Chilean flag to more celebrations'

[Sebastian Herrera](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/en/eurocup/players/sebastian-herrera/012611/) of Paris Basketball has a chance to make history as the first-ever Chilean to win the BKT EuroCup. He did his part to further the cause in Game 1 of the EuroCup Finals on Tuesday as he scored 11 points with just 1 missed shot to help Paris start the best-of-three series with a 77-64 victory over Mincidelice JL Bourgb en Bresse. 

Herrera is also the first-ever Chilean to play at the elite European level and he hopes to open the door for many countrymen to follow in his footsteps in the future. His entry into European basketball was a mix of being at the right place at the right time, but basketball has been in his family since he was born. 

"Unfortunately, basketball is not very popular in Chile. My dad played professional basketball in Chile for a couple of years and had a scholarship to play basketball at a university in the 1980s," Herrera said. "Besides, we always had a basketball hoop at home and I played there when I was a kid, so basketball was always in my life. Also, my dad used to play in senior tournaments for people over 40 and over 50. When I was a kid, I went to see my dad play every Sunday. Basketball was always present in my house." 

Herrera was a good prospect from a young age and played for the Chilen national team at different age groups, including at the prestigious Albert Schweitzer Under-18 World Tournament. There his strong play got him noticed and - along with a little help from his mother's heritage - led to offers to play professionally. 

"We always had a basketball hoop at home and I played there when I was a kid, so basketball was always in my life."

"I played well, with a big role, even though we didn't play well as a team because we lost almost all the games. Still, it was a tremendous experience for me," Herrera recalled. "Obviously, young players try to leave Chile, because there is no future there, and play abroad. I had a European passport because my mom is German. She has been living in Chile for 35 years, but she made sure I had a German passport and that's the luck I needed."

After the Schweitzer tournament, Herrera received a few offers and accepted one from TBB Trier in Germany, where he would see playing time right away. Even though Chilean and German basketball are completely different, Herrera had more trouble off the court: different habits, different weather, a different way of living for a Chilean teenager coming to Europe to try to make a career in basketball. 

"My main problem was adjusting to life in Europe. It was a different language and life in Germany was very strict, with a lot of rules. I was in a school in which things were different. I was on my own and I believe that was more difficult than anything basketball-related," Herrera said, pointing out that the basketball side was not that difficult. 

"I had the luck to join a small team that also played the U19 German League, which is also a good competition. That allowed me to get playing time right away, and I quickly had a good role. I didn't have to fight for playing time; they needed me from the moment I arrived, I played a lot of minutes and made the most out of my chances. I showed I could play and luckily, things went well for me that first season." 

After three seasons with Trier, the last two in the German second division, Herrera joined Crailsheim Merlins, which was then coached by current Paris boss Tuomas Iisalo. It was the start of a player-coach relationship that has spanned three clubs. Crailsheim was promoted to the German elite and managed to avoid relegation at the very last moment of a critical 2018-19 season, which Herrera and Coach Iisalo saw as the ultimate learning experience. 

Sebastian Herrera is in his first BKT EuroCup season with Paris Basketball.

2023-24 EuroCup highlights: Sebastian Herrera, Paris

"Tuomas and I started from the bottom. I remember when he took me to Crailsheim. It was a German second division team and I was 19 years old. That changed my life, so to speak, because we were immediately promoted. We had a good first season. Then in our second year, we almost went back to the second division. It was a very bad year but Tuomas learned a lot, I am sure he will tell you, too," Herrera said. "That season made him who he is right now, he learned a lot and after that, we were in the top six spots of the standings for six or seven months until COVID stopped everything." 

Herrera went on to play for EWE Baskets Oldenburg for a couple of years before joining forces with Coach Iisalo again last season. They helped Telekom Baskets Bonn win the BCL and reach the German League finals. When Coach Iisalo moved to Paris, he brought six of his former Bonn players with him including Herrera, who is grateful for the new opportunity, which now includes a chance to win the EuroCup and reach the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

"We were lucky that Paris almost gave Tuomas the keys to the city, allowing him to sign his players, the guys he trusts and won titles with. For us, it was a very logical decision, too. First, all of us are trying to climb the European basketball ladder and Paris was a very logical step for us," Herrera said. "That allowed us to keep working with Tuomas, who is very demanding, but at the same time, we have a lot of respect and a lot of trust in him. And also, Paris wants to be a EuroLeague team and increased its budget to do it."

"Tuomas Iisalo is very demanding, but at the same time, we have a lot of respect and a lot of trust in him."

Herrera has been with Coach Iisalo longer than any other player, making him the right person to discuss Iisalo's successful coaching ways. It all starts with demanding practices, which are probably harder than the games themselves, and some simple rules that are difficult, at least initially, to institute. Coach Iisalo takes pride in bringing out his players' best, too. 

"It is a very intensive brand of basketball. He always says that he wants to play with numbers on offense and defense. That means having more players than the opponent running on offense, and more players on defense. Our practices are intense, physically and mentally demanding. Obviously, he recruited the right players. We have a lot of confidence, trust each other and the chemistry is good. And that is shown in our results," Herrera said. "We call it the possessions game and it is very important. I mean, having less turnovers than the opponent, grabbing more rebounds and taking more shots than them, too. This is something we practice and that has a lot of value for us." 

Last season, Herrera celebrated winning the BCL in Malaga, Spain, wrapped up in a Chilean flag. This time, he hopes to do the same either in Paris or Bourg en Bresse.

"I am not done. I believe I can climb a couple more steps representing Chile because that's where I learned to play basketball and where I still play at the national team level, where my family is," Herrera said. "I want to bring the Chilean flag to more trophy celebrations." 

The Mindicelice JL Bourg en Bresse boss has built something special at the club and hopes to keep it going strong for years to come

Coach Fauthoux, Bourg: 'Loyalty is very important to me'

He spent his entire professional playing career with one club and learned from the best as he collected silverware at the club and international level. Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse boss Frederic Fauthoux has carried all that experience with him to now become a dream maker as a head coach.

Born in Saint-Sever, France, Fauthoux started his playing career with Avenir Serresious Honsarrieu in the late 1980s. After a season with INSEP, he joined Pau-Orthez in 1989 and spent 17 seasons with the club, just 60 kilometers from his hometown. Fauthoux was a defensive hound and a fantastic three-point shooter with great leadership skills.

Fauthoux was quite successful as a player. He helped Pau-Orthez win seven French League crowns from 1992 to 2004. Fauthoux also lifted three French Cups, the last one in his final season in 2007. Fauthoux also suited up 46 times for the French national team and won a silver medal with Les Bleus at EuroBasket 2005.

When he retired from playing professionally, the game called him back. Fauthoux returned to his first club, Serresious, in the French fourth division. In May 2010, he helped Serresious win the Coupe des Landes, a regional competition that dates back to 1946. By winning it, Fauthoux said he had finally realized his childhood dream.

Fauthoux began his coaching career with Pau in the lower divisions. He left to serve as an assistant coach to his former teammate Antoine Rigaudeau at Metropolitans 92, but when the latter resigned in December 2015, just a few months into their first season together, Fauthoux took over and remained head coach for the next five seasons. He has been with Bourg since 2022 and recently signed a three-year extension. Loyalty is, indeed, a big thing for Coach Fauthoux.

"For me, it's very important because when you play for a club, or when you coach one club, it's important to be respected by everybody around the team. So loyalty is very important to me," Fauthoux said. "The sport has changed a lot in recent years and it was easier to see players in the same team for a long time 20 years ago. It is different now, but I like to stay in the same city, to know the people in it."

Not only has Fauthoux committed the next few years to the club, but he would like to keep the core of the team that led Bourg to the EuroCup Finals with him. He simply prefers working with players and people who know his system and whom he can trust.

"It is better and easier to put your hand on the club and on the game. You decide on and choose your players," Fauthoux said. "It would be very important for me, for the city and for this club to keep a lot of our current players for future seasons. Having this continuity is important. It makes things easier."

MIncidelice JL Bourg en Bresse made it to the BKT EuroCup Finals! It is set to play vs. Paris Basketball

2023-24 EuroCup highlights: Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse

More and more point guards are becoming head coaches, following a first generation of playmakers turned bosses led by the great Zeljko Obradovic and later on, Pablo Laso. Jaka Lakovic won the EuroCup last season with Dreamland Gran Canaria, Sarunas Jasikevicius has been to four Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Fours as a coach, and many more coaches such as Roger Grimau, Tuomas Iisalo, Vassilis Spanoulis, Anton Gavel and Oded Kattash played professionally as guards. 

"I have the same spirit, the same patience for this sport. Now, I must teach basketball to the players. When I was a player, it was different because you are focused on your job, on what to do on the court," Fauthoux said. "But I have the same passion, the same intensity, and I want to do it. It is exactly the same. 

"Maybe it is easier because when we played point guard on the court, you have designed plays for other players. You must think a little more about other players and you speak more with the coach. So automatically, if you decide to become a coach, you already went through all that and it helps." 

Fauthoux played for many different coaches during his 17 years with Pau-Orthez. Even longtime teammate Didier Gadou was one of his last coaches in Pau. Two names stand out, however, for the impact they had on him.

"I had many coaches but Michel Gomez was a very important one for me," Fauthoux said. "If I am allowed to pick two coaches, the second one would be Jacques Monclar. I would say that Michel Gomez had a big brain and thought forward a lot. Jacques was a great leader for our team. Both of them were different, but very important to me." 

Now, Fauthoux faces perhaps the biggest challenge of his career: winning the EuroCup and giving Bourg the opportunity to play in the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Fauthoux sees this as an extra responsibility that the team should embrace to play its best basketball. 

"It's very important because we play for the team, for the club but also for our region. We have a lot of fans and are followed by a lot of people, so it is very important for us to play this final," Fauthoux said. "We are here to compete and the most important thing for us is winning this final."

After losing Game 1 of the best-of-three series at Paris on Tuesday, Fauthoux and his charges face a must-win Game 2 at home on Friday. 

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. 