The French side used all 12 players to devastating effect and caused plenty of misery for the visitors
Going wave after wave, Paris rolls past Virtus in banner-raising home opener
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 3 of 38
Regular Season
Paris BasketballPBB
9079
Virtus BolognaVIR
Overview
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Paris Basketball went wave after wave after wave in beating Virtus Bologna 90-79 to make sure its emotional season home opener would go as planned. The game was Paris’s EuroLeague home opener this season but also the first game it had played at Adidas Arena in 2025-26.
And Francesco Tabellini’s team took care of business in a historic manner.
“It was the first time we were playing at home in front of our home fans. It was very important to set the tone, show them our face, our identity,” said the Italian coach, who took over this past off-season from Tiago Splitter. “It’s a good starting point.”
Nadir Hifi led the way with 20 points and 6 assists, and last season’s EuroLeague Rising Star was excited to finally play at home.
“Every game is important but there is nothing like playing at home. We wanted to win this home opener after playing two games away last week. We couldn’t wait to play in front of our home crowd,” he said.
Paris played its two EuroLeague games on the road last week at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv, while it also started the French League with road games against Gravelines and Le Mans.
There was a major highlight even before the showdown against Virtus as the club raised the banners from winning the French League and Cup double last season.
The crowd in Paris also got the first chance to see Tabellini’s unusual style of play. The 42-year-old regularly substitutes out all five of the players at the same time in order to keep up the energy and intensity of the team’s game plan.
“The thing I appreciated most was that we were really connected on the floor. We were pretty connected between the bench and on court players. With the number of substitutions we make, everybody has to be connected and ready,” Tabellini said. “The five people have to be on the same page. The way we play, it’s non-negotiable for us. And I think that was there. This is a good starting point.”
All 12 players had gotten into the game in the first 6 minutes against Virtus and all of them scored in the opening 17 minutes of the game. Observers of Paris games should get used to it. All 12 players played and scored in both of the team’s French League games, and the full roster played in Paris’s first two EuroLeague games – 11 of them scoring in each of the contests.
“It’s just the way we play,” said veteran Amath M'Baye, who picked up 12 points against Virtus. “There are a lot of opportunities for a lot of people. The ways to score are out there and just up for grabs. And people did a great job at it today.”
The main scorer for the team is Hifi, who had 10 points in the first 6 minutes of the game and then did not score for more than 20 minutes of game action, though he still helped with his playmaking.
And his defense as it turns out, having been responsible for 4 of Paris’s 15 steals.
The hosts' never-ending waves of defensive pressure wreaked havoc on Virtus, which committed a club-record 26 turnovers – eclipsing its previous mark of 23 from November 2001. Those miscues turned into 36 points off turnovers for Paris.
Paris’s effort was also evident on the offensive glass, where the French team did whatever it wanted en route to 20 offensive rebounds. That set a club record, topping the 19 offensive boards the team grabbed last season against Maccabi in December 2024.
Now three games into the new EuroLeague season, the message should be clear for Paris opponents: be prepared for one wave after the next.
