By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
In a high-scoring first half, Paris Basketball was leading 54-49 against the London Lions in Game 1 of their best-of-three-game series in the semifinals of the BKT EuroCup.
Entering the third quarter, however, the regular rulers demonstrated their supremacy, going on a 14-0 scoring run that put separation between the two sides. They even reached a 22-point lead (79-57) at the end of the period and went all the way to the final 99-86 victory.
Paris Basketball is now leading 1-0 the series and will go to London trying to get home with a ticket for the BKT EuroCup Final. Likely MVP of the Season TJ Shorts was essential tonight, ending with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals; Nadir Hifi added 22 points, while Mikael Jantunen went close to a double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds in the win.
Joining the team midway through the season once he ended his run with the Motor City Cruise in the G-League, David Nwaba was once again London’s best player despite the defeat, as he dropped a losing effort of 24 points and 5 rebounds, shooting 7/9 from two and 10/11 at the line.
Gabe Olaseni added 15 points and 5 rebounds in his team’s loss. With 1:39 minutes left to the final buzzer, London’s head coach Petar Bozic was ejected and forced to leave the court after earning the second technical foul of the night.
It wasn’t the first time Paris Basketball and the London Lions faced each other this season. Tuomas Iisalo’s team won the first two encounters between the teams, first with a thrilling 106-102 victory in overtime, and then with a comfortable 17-point (94-77) win in the French capital.
This was a great day for French teams in the competition. Before Paris could get the upper hand over the Lions in the adidas Arena, JL Bourg-en-Bresse found a comfortable victory to open its series against Besiktas. With the same results on Friday, there will be an all-French BKT EuroCup Final.
PHOTO CREDIT: BKT EuroCup