Paris Basketball conceded its first home defeat of the season, Sunday evening against Monaco (94-99). In this reunion after the final of the previous year won by the Parisians, the capital’s players paid for their lack of collective experience.
It was enough to motivate the Monegasques. A few moments before the start of the clash of the third day of Betclic Élite between Paris and Monaco, the Parisian players, winners of the championship last June, were celebrated in front of the public at the Adidas Arena. Right under the nose of the Roca Team… beaten in the final by these same Parisians. “It’s certain that there was an aspect of revenge among them,” concedes Parisian Yakuba Ouattara, who passed through Monaco. “I know the final hurt them. Plus the celebration before the match which must have tickled some guys…”
However, the start was Parisian, with good intensity and skill which allowed Francesco Tabellini’s men to take the lead. But the Monegasques reacted quickly, inflicting a violent 0-15 at the end of the first quarter. “We didn’t do enough defensively in the first quarter,” said Francesco Tabellini, the Italian coach who arrived this summer to replace Tiago Splitter. “We made too many mistakes that caused free throws.”
Despite the great victory in the Euroleague three days earlier against Virtus Bologna, Paris did not match the intensity of the Monegasques. “We showed great things,” positive Ouattara. “That bodes well. We must not forget that our team is still young. We have never played as a full team since the start of the season. We have only been playing together for a month and a half.”
With a rooster almost rebuilt from scratch following the cascade of departures this summer (TJ Shorts, Tyson Ward, Collin Malcolm, Maodo Lo, Bandja Sy, Mikael Jantunen, Leon Kratzer), Paris Basketball is trying to get back on its feet. “Over time, knowing our state of mind, our will and our work ethic, I think we can only be better,” says Ouattara.
“We understood what to do”
There are many projects ahead for the Parisian club, coming off a historic Cup-Championship double last season. “We didn’t do everything we could and should have done to win this match,” regrets Italian coach Francesco Tabellini. “Now we understand what we need to do to be competitive against Monaco.”
Trailing by ten points at the break (45-55), the Parisians returned to the match thanks to a good start to the third quarter and even went ahead for a few seconds (70-68; 28th). “We have to be consistent over 40 minutes,” analyzes Yakuba Ouattara. “We leave too many easy baskets in the paint. Our defensive toughness must never drop. And on offense, we are lucky to have coaches who give us a lot of confidence. We know that if we miss a shot or two, we will not go to the bench, our playing time will be the same.”
Hifi satisfaction
A philosophy that fits perfectly with the playing style of Nadir Hifi, new offensive leader after the departure of TJ Shorts. “He is reaching a milestone,” greets Ouattara. “He is much more in the alternation in the game. He always has his strokes of genius but he also manages to make others play. We really need him in these aspects.”
With 24 points and 5 assists, the “Prince of Paris” kept his team afloat at the end of the game, in vain. The international fullback, increasingly used in position 1 at the start of the season, had already scored 20 points and delivered 6 assists against Bologna three days earlier.
“Sometimes he is excellent, sometimes he makes mistakes, like all of us,” says his coach Francesco Tabellini. “I remain convinced that he will be one of the best leaders in Europe. He has everything: the right mentality, the sense of responsibility. He is a player who is naturally very aggressive offensively.”
After having proclaimed his desire to take responsibility and deciding to stay in Paris despite numerous requests from major Euroleague players, Hifi must understand a new role. “The idea is that he is able to also think about the team, while maintaining this aggressiveness,” concludes Tabellini. “Because in a playing system, the leader has a lot of responsibilities. But I am confident that he will succeed.”
Too tight in money time, where Monaco relied on conductor Elie Okobo and a more sober but equally effective Strazel-James duo, Paris conceded its first setback at home of the season. Far from being alarming, but full of lessons.
