Tiago Splitter's side improved to a 4-3 record by beating Baskonia in a low-scoring affair
Paris learning and winning – even unusual games
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Regular Season
Round 7 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debutant Paris Basketball notched its third consecutive win on Friday night, but this time in a different fashion.
At Adidas Arena, Paris held off the visiting Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 67-65 in a game where the two teams' offenses, to be generous, did not have their best night.
"It was a tough, very physical game, and we are luck we got this one," Paris head coach Tiago Splitter admitted to EuroLeague TV after the win. "It was a defensive game and we scored a little bit more than them."
His team had netted at least 84 points in each of their previous four games, three of which were victories. But on Friday night, Paris managed just 67 points, a season low. However, Baskonia was stuck at 65.
"Stats are very clear," Pablo Laso said in a post-game interview. "We won almost every [category], our [PIR] is 20 points better. But we were 1 for 26 on three-pointers."
That is Baskonia's club-record low from three-point range. The only triple came from Markus Howard on the first possession of the third quarter after Baskonia had started 0 for 17 from long range. The visitors also missed their last 8 attempts.
"It is very difficult to win on a bad shooting night. We did a lot of good things, but we were not able to put the ball in the basket," Laso added.
Splitter, on the other hand, not only liked what he saw from his team but he also the constant improvement he is seeing from his team week in, week out.
"We are improving defensively," Splitter said. "We are able to change a coverage during the game and these guys are pretty smart and ready for whatever the coaches tell them."
And that's the way to pull out a win in the second leg of a double-round week, in a game that saw no player on either team score in double figures.
"This was probably the most physical battle we've had so far in the EuroLeague," big man Mikael Jantunen said after collecting 8 points and 8 rebounds for a team-high PIR of 16.
"I feel like this is a learning experience. We learn a lot as a group and we get better."
It certainly looks like that after the first month of action as Paris holds a 4-3 record along with four other teams.
Next up for the team from the French capital is a tilt with Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, where Paris will be chasing its fourth win in a row.