France’s capital club secured its first home win of 2026
Reenergized Paris takes a big step forward, snaps Real Madrid’s winning streak
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3 Dk okuma
Regular Season
Round 25 of 38
Regular Season
Paris BasketballPBB
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Real MadridRMB
Overview
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Frenetic basketball is the norm at Paris Basketball. Defense, at times, has not been. On Tuesday night, that certainly wasn’t the case.
In a 98-92 win over Real Madrid – which entered this Round 25 matchup riding a six-game winning streak – Paris showed it can operate at a high level on both ends of the floor. The victory marked the team’s first home win of 2026 and snapped a three-game losing streak overall, which included a 14-point loss at Valencia Basket and a 20-point defeat at home against Dubai Basketball during last week’s double-round stretch.
For a team like Paris, offense comes naturally. Any time Nadir Hifi has the ball, opposing defenses tighten up. When Justin Robinson is at the controls, a fastbreak is usually close behind, as evidenced by a pair of long, upcourt passes Tuesday night. But it has been on the defensive end where Paris has been exposed too often this season.
Allowing 92 points to Real Madrid doesn’t suggest a lockdown performance, but the aggression and physicality Paris displayed told a different story. Led by Robinson, Amath M’Baye, Momo Faye and Yakuba Ouattara, among others, that defensive intensity could be the foundation of a late-season push – particularly when paired with the elite offensive production of Hifi, Jared Rhoden and Robinson.
“We’ve got a lot of energy, a lot of young guys who are willing to do the dirty work and play hard,” M’Baye told EuroLeague TV after scoring 16 points, his second-highest total of the season. “It just had to be channeled the right way, and I think today we did that. We were in a lot of games this year, especially late, but we couldn’t get over that hump. This time we did, and it gives us the blueprint to do it again.”
Just as important: Paris got the win over the line.
The home side led for all but nine seconds of the second half and from the midpoint of the first quarter onward. Still, when Real Madrid briefly grabbed an 89-90 lead with 1:41 remaining, anxiety rippled through the building. Hifi answered immediately with a three-point play to restore the advantage. Moments later, Faye recorded the fourth block of his career-high night by rejecting Mario Hezonja at the rim, and Rhoden followed by making it a two-possession game at 94-90. If there were any doubts about Paris’s resolve, they were answered in that sequence.
After a Round 20 road win at Anadolu Efes Istanbul – Paris’s only victory of the calendar year prior to Tuesday – coach Francesco Tabellini said his team had shown the resilience needed to put its fourth-quarter struggles in the rearview mirror. But Paris failed to build on that performance, dropping three straight. The aim now is to use this win over Real Madrid as a springboard.
“(Being more aggressive on defense) was the plan from the beginning of the season,” Tabellini said afterward. “I think the team lost a little confidence after a couple of very tough losses, and with that we lost some aggressiveness. We’re working hard to get back to that level.
“Tonight we were aggressive, we stayed composed and kept pushing, even when they went on an impressive run at the end. That’s the way. My players deserve a lot of credit – they did a very good job and earned this win and the reaction from the crowd.”
M’Baye, a clear leader for this youthful, energetic roster, also credited the coaching staff for its willingness to adjust.
“It feels good (to win), especially because of how we did it,” he said. “We made the right adjustments and showed that we want to play together, on both ends. I’m really proud of everyone – the players and the staff – for being willing to make those changes and going out there and playing the way we did.”
Much of Paris’s season has been defined by promise without payoff, as it has been a team capable of causing problems but unable to close. Against a Real Madrid side of this stature, this was a timely and convincing response.
“We needed confidence at this moment of the season,” Hifi, who reached 1,000 career points in the EuroLeague Tuesday night, said. “We lost badly in Valencia and against Dubai, honestly. But beating one of the biggest teams in the EuroLeague shows that we’re capable. That’s good for our mental health.”
The challenge doesn’t ease up. After traveling to face FC Bayern Munich in Round 26, Paris will take on three of the top teams in the standings – Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and FC Barcelona – while also facing 2024 champion Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens. Still, with Hifi leading the way, Paris will head into that stretch with renewed belief and a no-fear mindset.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, will look to regroup during the double round with trips to Panathinaikos and Dubai next week. Having dropped the first game of a four-game road swing, any further slip-ups could put Los Blancos’ hold on fourth place under serious pressure.
