By Michalis Gioulenoglou / info@eurohoops.net
Paris Basketball managed to defy the odds and sweep Panathinaikos both at home and in OAKA, winning a crucial game on the road to their first-ever EuroLeague post-season.
Tyson Ward contributed with 17 points, shooting 4/6 from beyond the arc. In the post-game, he spoke to Eurohoops about the way the French team freely plays on the court. “We’ve been doing it for some time now, three to four years,” he opened.
“Those guys have an understanding, and even the new guys who are coming have done a great job understanding it. They have a full understanding of what we do. That just pushes the pace, and have fun so while doing it,” the former Telekom Baskets Bonn forward added.
“It really just tells don’t tell he court about us understanding each other, knowing about who’s on the court, what people do, and knowing your personnel. That’s how we play. We have a great group of guys who understand each other.”
Watching Paris Basketball play on the court, it looks like everybody is free to take the next shot. “There are some reasons behind the shots, but it’s very comforting and free. You don’t have to think whether it’s a bad shot or not,” Ward commented.
“If you’re comfortable taking that shot, there are 14 other guys in this locker room and 7 other guys on staff who trust you to make that shot. It’s all about having trust in each other. We know who we are. We stick to what we do best. It’s pretty freeing, it’s a good feeling.”
Finally, Panathinaikos could have tied at the end with Juancho Hernangomez shooting off the dribble from three-point range, but it ultimately didn’t go it. “He shot the ball, I watched it. If he made it, it was a tough shot, it was overtime,” Ward opened.
Avoiding another loss at the buzzer like it happened with Fenerbahce, Tiago Splitter’s team could celebrate the tough victory over the reigning champions.
“I was like ‘I don’t want to do this again’. Basketball gods were on our side today, we came out. It was a good place to win, definitely moving forward, we’ll take that with us”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Eurokinissi
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