Exactly 700 days ago, on December 16, 2023, Isiaha Mike caused an incredible adrenaline rush in Ékinox: a decisive long shot 4 seconds from the buzzer then a stifling defense on Nadir Hifi to crucify Tuomas Iisalo’s players (83-81). Except that the Burgian public has paid a high price since then, rationed on dry bread, with now a sad series of ten consecutive defeats against the capital club.
The players may parade in Ain, some even passing through the opposite camp (Ayayi and Morgan), like the coaches in Paris, but since this suspended moment in December 2023, Paris has only dominated the JL Bourg, everywhere, at the Adidas Arena, Bercy or Ékinox, always pushing it aside on the path to its greatest conquests: final of the EuroCup, semi-final of the Coupe de France, semi-final of Betclic ELITE…
“Ten defeats in a row, it hurts…”
“It sucks”breathes Kevin Kokila, present during all Burgian setbacks. “I didn’t know it was ten but it hurts. We are competitors, Paris has always been in our way and we have not yet managed to find the solution to beat them…”
If there is no surprise, in itself, to see the French champions leave their trip to Bresse victorious, the gap is striking (75-91), however… “More than the result, it’s the way that hurts”agrees the Burgian captain. As they completed a hellish series of five matches in nine days, coming out of a grueling double week in the EuroLeague, the Parisians rolled physically into the Game, deploying an incredible physical intensity for a supposedly tired team: Nadir Hifi sprinting like crazy to throw himself on the ground towards a lost ball, Mouhamed Faye spending the evening with his head above the circle to embody the enormous domination of Ile-de-France in rebounds (46 to 28).
“The rebound was the mirror of our activity”appreciates Yakuba Ouattara. “We played a really solid game defensively. When we know our number of possessions played, only taking 75 points is really low…”
“We know we can miss shots
because we’re going to get some rebounds! »
Hanging on until the quarter of an hour of play (22-19, 14th minute), which more or less coincided with Nadir Hifi’s first basket (22-24, 16th minute), Paris Basketball had to get through a particularly sluggish start (5 lost balls in the first quarter), before managing to let loose.
But then, without being particularly brilliant (which is perhaps the most impressive), Francesco Tabellini’s team rolled on, pounding in the racket (40 points inside, 17 on a second chance, editor’s note). “It all comes from our defensive effort but we know that we can miss shots, because we also know that we are going to recover offensive rebounds,” underlines the transalpine technician. “But as soon as we started getting shots in, we blew up the game. »
The worst thing, for JL Bourg, is that if we compare last season, the scenario this time is much less honorable. Last year, during its six defeats, the Game always gave the impression of being in the match, before exploding at one point or another. This Saturday, she let herself be walked on, being up to 27 lengths behind in the middle of the third quarter (51-78, 27th minute). “Every time it’s hard, when the opposing team comes with a lot of aggression, we have difficulty developing our game and our passing circuit”point Kevin Kokila. “We fell back into our mistakes, we failed this test. »
Frédéric Fauthoux annoyed by Paris’ attitude
Too much for a competitor of the caliber of Frédéric Fauthoux who had his frustration a little too visible after the final buzzer. While a report was sent to the LNB concerning the small scenes of post-match tension, JL coach Bourg was annoyed by the overall attitude of Paris Basketball.
“They affected us a lot, they started talking, being arrogant. I found it to be very limited but apparently everything is accepted now. Ten defeats in a row against Paris? Honestly, I don’t care at all. The only thing that interests me is how to develop this group to be able to play eye to eye with these kinds of teams. Because this evening, Paris was clearly stronger than us. » One last sentence which sums up the evening quite well…
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