TJ Shorts and co. took care of business with a season-best defensive showing
Paris finished regular season on high, now awaits final results
Article
3 Mins read
Paris Basketball has been the surprise of the season as last year’s BKT EuroCup champion worked its way into the EuroLeague postseason, but Tiago Splitter's squad must now wait to find out who their next opponent will be and where – all the while being confident in their chances.
Coach Splitter was happy his team finished the regular season in strong fashion with a 72-63 victory at home to ALBA Berlin to remain alive for a direct spot in the playoffs.
“Today is a day where we can look at the macro – the whole season. I’m proud of the guys what they did the whole season, the regular season," said the Brazilian, whose side finished its debut EuroLeague campaign with a 19-15 record.
"Now we have the play-in, playoffs, whatever we have in front of us. I’m really proud of how they managed the whole season – ups and downs and competing every game. That’s the most important thing. No game was easy against us. We showed a good spirit every night.
"We are not choosing or saying we want to play against anybody. We believe in ourselves and know we are a dangerous team and we will go from there.”
While the team struggled to produce offensively against ALBA – scoring just 72 points, 14.9 points fewer than its average coming into the game – Paris only allowed 63 points, the fewest it conceded in any game this season. That came after Paris had allowed 101, 98 and 105 points in its last three games, all of which were on the road.
In the end, it was all about finishing strong and gaining confidence after Paris had been limping to the finish line with just two wins in its last seven games.
“It’s a blessing to have this opportunity. We worked really hard – the guys last season and this season,” said Tyson Ward, who scored 12 points to go with 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals in the win.
“We had a great opportunity and we came in here and showed what we do best and that’s to play hard, have a lot of fun and brought our identity and style to the EuroLeague. This is just a product of us having fun. We get to enjoy the post-season this year and hopefully do some more in the future.”