Paris Basketball won the Eurocup, the second European competition, on Friday April 12 after its victory (89-81) in Bourg-en-Bresse, a title which also gives it a ticket to the next Euroleague. The Parisians won two victories to zero even before the third decisive support match.
Under the eyes of the two highest leaders of the most prestigious continental competition, the former Serbian legend Dejan Bodiroga (president) and the Lithuanian Paulius Motiejunas (CEO), they expressed their joy at joining the big world and bringing a second trophy, two months after the first, the Leaders Cup, to their young and ambitious club. All this, at the end of only their second European campaign, and without having yet played in the play-offs of the French championship.
Created from scratch in 2018, transfigured last summer with the arrival of a coach (Finnish Tuomas Iisalo), two assistants and six players from Bonn, Paris Basketball joins Monaco, winner of this C2 in 2021, now hoping to imitate the Roca Team which made its mark in the Euroleague.
A streak of 19 victories in progress
“The progress is dazzling. I don’t know if there is an equivalent in the history of European basketball,” said Tuomas Iisalo, determined to take on the Euroleague challenge “because we want to accomplish something unique in European basketball.”
His final victory – also ahead of François Hollande – marks a perfect continental season, where he only fell once (for 22 successes), in the pools, and crushed the play-offs, beating Badalone (1-0) and the London Lions ( 2-0), before Bressans.
Even if they resisted much better than during the first match on Tuesday in Paris (77-64 defeat), and despite the unfailing and noisy support of their Ekinox audience (3,500 seats), Frédéric Fauthoux’s players finished by bowing to an irresistible team since the end of January (streak of 19 victories in progress).
“The key is the collective trust that we all have, the players, in their teammates: “if I do my job and the next one does too, then we will succeed.” And the trust the players have in the staff. I am very proud of this group,” said Tuomas Iisalo.
