Paris Basketball advanced to the 7DAYS EuroCup Quarterfinals by edging 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys 97-98 in a spectacular eighthfinals game at Cido Arena on Wednesday with young Yuhann Begarin playing a critical role. The club from the French capital was the only team on the road to win and advance among Wednesday's six games.
At age 20, Begarin has been taking giant steps throughout the season to become one of the best young players in the competition. No performance was bigger than in this must-win game for Paris. He had 8 quick points to give Paris an early 8-10 lead and stepped up every time his team needed him, finding mismatches on offense due to his rare combination of athleticism, speed and one-on-one skills.
Once Lietkabelis took a 50-46 margin after the break, Begarin was ready to respond, hitting a three-pointer, scoring off a steal and making sure his team got a 57-61 margin midway through the third quarter. When the dust settled, Begarin had been on the court for over 31 minutes, matching a career-high with 22 points on 5-of-7 two-point shooting and 6-of-8 free throws. He added 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 5 fouls drawn for a PIR of 22.
Begarin leads all Rising Star eligible players in scoring with 12.2 points and ranks third overall in steals wth 2.0 per game. His greatest competitor in the face for the EuroCup Rising Star trophy, however, plays alongside him, as Ismael Kamagate also had a good performance against Lietkabelis and is the front-runner to win the award.