The suspense lasted no more than a quarter this Saturday at the Chaudron. Paris Basketball crushed Le Portel on the 17th day of the championship, winning 57-120 and achieving the biggest gap in the history of the French championship. The Parisians notably won the 2nd quarter with the incredible score of 33 to 4. Only one black point for the capital club: the injury exit of Daulton Hommes, injured in the ankle in the middle of the 4th quarter.
With a final gap of 63 units, Paris set a new record: that of the largest difference in points over a match in the history of the French championship. The previous mark was established by Cholet Basket, winner of Avignon by 59 points on March 11, 1989 (114-55). The capital club also broke the offensive record of the season in Betclic ELITE, by scoring 120 points and surpassing its own mark of 115, reached on November 9 against Limoges.
An entry station wagon
In barely four minutes of play, Paris overwhelmed the ESSM and created a first break (0-10, 4th), already impossible to fill. Without particularly shining at long distance (8/23 at 3-points at the break), Francesco Tabellini’s men stifled their opponents and put an end to any possibility of exploit before returning to the locker room.
In the 2nd quarter, the most unbalanced of the match, the Portelois took 8 minutes and 33 seconds to score their first points, through Greg Lee on the free throw line (18-59, 19th). The fate was sealed after 20 minutes, with the gap already increased to 44 points (65-21), while Stella captain Ivan Février left his teammates with a disqualifying foul.
Paris maintains the pressure at the top of the table
Le Portel played the 2nd half with a five almost always made up of young players. Among them, Abdoul Ba and Noam Delag – former resident of the Paris training center – made their first entry into the professionals (18 years old each). Under the leadership of Nadir Hifi (21 points) and Léopold Cavalière (11 points and 14 rebounds, professional record), Paris Basketball continued to play and deploy its offensive systems. The gap rose to 63 points, at its peak.
It now remains to be known the fate of Daulton Hommes, who left injured in the left ankle in the middle of the 4th quarter and carried to his team’s bench. At the end of this record evening, Paris won its 13th victory in 17 days and remained neck and neck with Nanterre for 2nd place. ESSM Le Portel, still stuck at zero victories, is sinking a little deeper into the depths of the rankings, while the future of its coach Kenny Grant is more in the balance than ever.
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