We feared the worst for Paris Basketball when, in early July, we learned of the departure of their Finnish coach Tuomas Iisalo, now assistant coach at Memphis in France. NBA. How would the club from the capital be able to digest its meteoric rise (Leaders Cup winner and Eurocup last season and reigning French vice-champion) without stability on the bench?
Especially since the discovery of the gruelling Euroleague (34 games!) has historically been the ultimate crash-test for French basketball, except for theAS Monaco by Mike James. Well, with financial resources quite different from those in the Principality, Paris Basketball has made a dazzling start to the European season. Their Brazilian coach Tiago Splitter, ex-teammate of Tony Parker at the Spurs, has all the makings of a top pick, and the collective works wonders.
Six wins in a row and a feat in Barcelona
So much so that, after almost a third of the competition, the Parisians find themselves with 7 wins and 3 defeats in an incredible 4th place in the standings (tied 2nd), just edged out by the monstrous Fenerbahçe, Panathinaikos and Olympiakos. Quite simply, Paris Basketball already has almost as many successes as Olympiakos.Asvel (15th) has not won in any of the last three Euroleague campaigns (8, 8 and 9 victories).
And to top it all off, the Nadir Hifi has just achieved a major feat away from its Adidas Arena, on Friday in Barcelona (87-103). You almost have to pinch yourself to convince yourself that this +16 for a French club at a supposedly untouchable Barça actually happened, and that this is Paris Basketball’s sixth straight win in the premier competition.
Six wins in a row is impressive,” says American winger Tyson Ward, who scored 13 points in Catalonia. We want to keep riding this wave. We’re beating some of the best teams in Europe and we believe in ourselves, in our project.” How could it be otherwise, when you’ve already got Pana (reigning European champions), Monaco and Barça in your sights?