The French team dominated Hapoel in every department after an even first quarter.
Ruthless Paris marched into quarterfinals with another clinical display



Paris Basketball had too much firepower for Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv in an 86-104 over the Israeli side, which allowed the French team to clinch first place in BKT EuroCup Group A with three games to spare.
The result means that Paris, which improved to 14-1, will be able to afford a week off when the business end of the competition starts in March, as the top two teams from each group are assured of a bye in the eighthfinals.
The outcome pleased Paris coach Tuomas Iisalo, who praised his team’s clinical performance and stressed that having a week off while other teams battle it out for quarterfinal berths could be crucial.
“Our offense was free-flowing, we made it easy for ourselves for the most part on that end,” IIsalo said after seeing his men brush Hapoel aside. “Defensively we have to do a better job because we had errors due to lack of concentration. If we want to compete for something special, we have to improve in that department,” he added.
“We beat a very good team, we secured the top spot in a very tough group so we can be very satisfied with our performances. It will be very important to get that bye week.”
Paris thoroughly dominated two crucial departments in the game, as it racked up 39 boards to Hapoel’s 24 and the visitors also had 29 assists - 9 more than the home team. The game’s top performer TJ Shorts was particularly effective with 20 points and 10 assists, linking up superbly with big man Leon Kratzer who posted 12 points and 8 rebounds, including a pair of monster dunks facilitated by Shorts who said the victory was business as usual.
“We are just sticking to the things we do every day,” Shorts commented. “The way we practice, the way we push the tempo and make it uncomfortable for the other teams. All those things in the basics is what got us the win tonight.”
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Hapoel head coach Danny Franco acknowledged inconsistency had cost his team a chance to put up more of a fight, with turnovers in key moments and the inability to hold their own in the paint undoing the hosts. He was also hopeful that Hapoel would have another shot at Paris in the knockout stages of the competition.
“We had too many ups and downs and Paris punished us every time we lost focus,” said Franco. “Being better in the next game – and I believe we will play Paris again – is all about being aware. Congratulations to Paris, they deserved the win because they were more focused than us.”