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 offers it a ticket for 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), the players expressed their joy at bringing a second trophy, two months after the first, the Leaders Cup, to their young and ambitious club.
The feat is all the more remarkable as this is only their second European campaign, and they have never played in the play-offs of the French championship.
Created from scratch in 2018, Paris Basketball was transfigured last summer by the arrival of Finnish Tuomas Iisalo, as coach, and six players from Bonn. He joins Monaco, winner of this C2 in 2021, on the list of winners, and now hopes to imitate the Roca Team which has imposed its presence in the Euroleague.
Only one defeat for 22 victories
“The progress is dazzling. I don’t know if there is an equivalent in the history of European basketball.”estimated Tuomas Iisalo, determined to take up the Euroleague challenge “because we want to achieve something unique in European basketball”.
This victory – also ahead of François Hollande – marks a perfect continental season, where the club only fell once (for 22 wins), in groups, and crushed the European 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 Tuesday in Paris (77-64 defeat), and despite the unfailing and noisy support of their Ekinox audience (3,500 seats), the players from Bourg-en- Bresse ended up losing to an irresistible team since the end of January.
“The key is the collective trust that we all have, the players, in their teammates: “if I do my job and the one next door does too, then we will succeed.” And the trust the players have in the staff. I am very proud of this group”estimated Tuomas Iisalo.