Paris is the first finalist of the EuroCup! They defeated the London Lions by 93:85 and will now await their opponents very well-rested.
The game started at a fast pace, and we reached 10:7 quickly. There were many three-point attempts, and both teams took risks in that manner. The pace intensified even more towards the end of the first quarter. Both teams exchanged baskets, and Jordan Taylor hit a two-pointer in the final seconds, giving the guests a lead of 21:19 after the first ten minutes.
Luke Nelson made an incredible three-pointer despite a foul, but he couldn’t convert it into an even better situation for Petar Bozic’s team. He missed the free throw. Then T.J. Shorts found his rhythm and brought the team back to parity.
We witnessed an incredible number of offensive fouls from the home team in this quarter, three in three minutes, but they still maintained their lead. After Taylor’s second three-pointer, they reached a plus seven. This was followed by a nervous period with a lot of disjointed play and frequent trips to the free-throw line. Matt Morgan scored 13 points for a halftime score of 45:39.
The second quarter began with several fantastic dunks from Tyson Ward, followed by his three-pointer to make it 50:48. Sam Dekker responded with a mid-range jumper. After that, there was a 5:0 run by Parisians, prompting Petar Bozic to call a timeout. However, Paris turned the game in their favor with the contributions of Toumas Iisalo. Jenkins’ dunk made it 60:56. ‘The Lions’ struggled to score. Tarik Phillip managed to hit a shot, bringing the score to 66:64 after 30 minutes of thrilling basketball.
Leon Kratzer started the final quarter with free throws, followed by a three-pointer from Sebastian Herrera. Paris extended their lead to a significant plus nine after Ward’s transition points. Then the pace slowed down significantly, with only one three-pointer from the Lions. It seemed like ‘The Lions’ were worn out. They managed to hit some shots and reduced the deficit to minus five. They even had a chance to shock Paris in the final minute due to some nervous mistakes from Paris. However, Paris held on and secured the win.
The top scorer was T.J. Shorts with 21 points, followed by Herrera with 13 points. On the other side, Matt Morgan scored 25 points, and Taylor contributed 17. In the final, Parisians will face the winner of the Bourg-Besiktas game scheduled for April third.
Paris is the first finalist of the Eurocup!
— Basketball Sphere (@BSphere_) March 29, 2024
They now await the winner of the decider between Bourg and Besiktas. pic.twitter.com/wG9tfTKkV7
LONDON LIONS:PARIS 85:93 (19:21, 26:18,19:27, 21:27)
Venue: “Copperbox Arena”, London
Referees: Pukl, Kowalski, Kardum
London Lions: Morgan 25, Taylor 17, Olaseni 9, Phillip 9, Nelson 7, Dekker 6, Morgan 5, Sharma 5, Nwaba 2, Grantham.
Paris: Shorts 21, Hifi 13, Herrera 13, Simon 11, Malcolm 10, Ward 9, Jantunen 7, Kratzer 4, Ngouama 3, Sy 2.