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Paris, Turk Telekom welcome back the EuroCup with a bang

Paris, Turk Telekom welcome back the EuroCup with a bang

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9 January 20235 Mins read

Paris, Turk Telekom welcome back the EuroCup with a bang

Following a two-week break in the 7DAYS EuroCup calendar, the action returns on Tuesday with a fascinating contest between Paris Basketball (6-3) and Group A leader Turk Telekom Ankara (7-2) at Halle Georges Carpinter.

Paris closed Round 9 with an impressive 80-93 win on the road at the London Lions, which improved it to 5-0 away from the French capital, while Turk Telekom moved to 4-0 on its travels with a 71-84 win at Buducnost VOLI Podgorica. Curiously, Paris has won four of its last five games but only recorded its first home victory of the season in Round 6, beating Veolia Towers Hamburg 87-84.

In the last five rounds, Kyle Allman of Paris has been particularly impressive, averaging 16.0 points per game during his team's 4-1 run. However, this is still lower than his season average of 18.9 points per night, which is good enough for second best in the EuroCup.

It is not just Allman that Turk Telekom will have to pay close attention to, though. In addition to having the EuroCup's second-best rounder in Ismael Kamagate, who has averaged 10.0 rebounds per game in his last five contests, the game against London showed that Paris has a number of players who can put points on the board, with seven players scoring 9 points or more: Aamir Simms (15), Tyrone Wallace (13), Gauthier Denis (12), Allman (10), Amar Gegic (9), Juhann Begarin (9) and Axel Toupane (9).

Slowing down Allman and Kamagate will be important for Turk Telekom, but it will also have to be wary of Paris's other options if it is to remain at the top of Group A. That said, Turk Telekom head coach Erdem Can has several options available to him that will be of concern to his Paris counterpart, Will Weaver.

In Round 9, of the 84 points that Turk Telekom scored against Buducnost, an incredible 76 came from just four players: Axel Bouteille (26), Nathan Sestina (18), Tony Taylor (16) and Tyrique Jones (16). Yet, the team's leading performer in PIR, Jerian Grant, finished with his second-lowest points total of the season with 6.

One of the things that will please Coach Can coming into Tuesday's game is that his five main players – Bouteille, Sestina, Taylor, Jones and Grant – have all averaged an impressive number of points in the last five games. Bouteille is leading the way with 18.8 points per game in that period, followed by Taylor with 15.0 ppg. and Sestina with 14.2 ppg. Grant has put up 13.6 ppg. in his last five contests, while Jones has averaged 12.3 ppg.

Turk Telekom has lost just twice this season, with its first defeat coming at home to Paris in Round 1, losing 75-90 to the EuroCup newcomer, and the second arriving in Round 7 against Gran Canaria at Ankara Spor Salonu, 81-88. Therefore, Turk Telekom has won seven of its last eight games, and the only game in that run that Jones missed was the one that his team lost. In addition to having a telepathic relationship with Taylor, his active nature on the boards and around the rim should set up an intriguing battle against Kamagate of Paris.

When Turk Telekom lost to Paris in the opening round of the season, it came as a surprise, but perhaps the Turkish team's fans would point to the fact that their top five players in 2022-23 were all new arrivals. What's more, Taylor did not make his debut in Round 1, so this will be the first time that Paris has had to come face to face with the guard this season.

Paris, meanwhile, relied on 22 points from Allman in that Round 1 matchup and also had Gegic (17 points), Wallace (14) and Toupane (12) get into double figures. Looking ahead to Tuesday's meeting, Coach Weaver now has a deeper roster available – Begarin, Denis and Jeremy Evans did not play against Turk Telekom earlier this season – and confidence seems to be high in the camp.

"We're looking forward to trying to complete the sweep when we play against those guys [Turk Telekom]," Coach Weaver stated in his post-game press conference after beating London in Round 9. "Obviously, this next time around in the competition, now that we've played everyone once, I think everyone's got a better feel for their teams and their opponents. We'll look forward to that challenge. I think, on paper, they're the favorites in our group, so we'll look forward to hosting them and see if we can keep some momentum going."

Turk Telekom is on a roll and will have its sights set on matching Paris's EuroCup-best road record, but it is unlikely to be an easy game for Coach Can and his players. It should be a lot of fun, regardless. Make sure you tune in from 20:30 CET on Tuesday, January 10.