By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
A spectacle at Accor Arena ended with almost 300 points scored as, before New Year’s Eve, basketball lovers in France witnessed a true spectacle in a traditional All-Star game played in Paris.
Team France clashed with Team World, and after 45 minutes of play, since the regular four quarters weren’t enough to find the winner, Mike James led the side made out of international players to a 149-154 win in front of the 15,843 spectators in the packed Accor Arena.
The US guard from defending champions Monaco ended up being the MVP after scoring 34 points on 10/18 shooting.
Isaiah Mike followed him with 19, Desi Rodriguez scored 15, Frank Mason 13, while James’ teammate Alpha Diallo, and Aleksej Nikolic, Shevon Thompson, and Tyson Ward added 12 points each.
However, it was one of the French players that stole the show. Paris’ Nadir Hifi led Team France with 44 points, which tied an All-Star record. He shot an incredible 10/18 from beyond the arch.
Monaco’s Elie Okobo followed with 35 points and nine assists, while Yannis Morin had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Zaccharie Risacher also had 14 points, while Mathis Dossou Yovo and Joffrey Lauvergne added 10 points each.
As for the other events, JDA Dijon’s Allan Dokossi won the slam dunk contest in front of Kilian Malwaya (Evreux), Mbaye Ndiaye (ASVEL), and Tyson Ward (Paris).
Cholet’s TJ Campbell retained his crown in the Skills Challenge in front of Lucas Boucaud (Saint-Quentin), TJ Shorts (Paris), and Ilias Kamardine (Vichy).
Johnny Berhanemeskel from Gravelines won the three-point contest and paid tribute to his team’s arena Sportica which recently burned down in a fire. He won against ASVEL’s Edwin Jackson in the final, with Nicolas Lang (Limoges) and Bryce Brown (Bourg) also participating.