Without two of its executives and its two best passers (Marcus Keene and Abdoulaye N’Doye), we knew that the start of 2026 was going to be complicated for Strasbourg. It was a big task to try and get a top seed at the Leaders Cup. The SIG had already come out miraculously in Bourg with a 10-0 inflicted in the last 54 seconds to take the lead on the gong.
Individual difficulties for Strasbourg
This time at the Adidas Arena, the miracle did not take place. Because in addition to the absence of the two starters, three others missed out on their match this evening, completely stifled by the Parisian defense: Mike Davis Jr., Jean-Baptiste Maille et Ben Greggwith respectively -1, 0 and 4 evaluation in more than 25 minutes.
The American leader was not up to par, particularly in his attitude, as indicated by his 0/9 from 3-point range or his 5 turnovers. Which earned him the reprimands of his coach. When to Jean-Baptiste Maillehe himself admitted to having made a lot of mistakes in a post-match interview. The 35-year-old leader suffered in the face of all-terrain pressure from the Parisians. Finally, Ben Gregg simply missed his match, and was unsuccessful.
Gabe Brown (24 points) et Nelly Joseph (14 points, 7 rebounds) are the only ones who exuded both energy and success. Strasbourg got into their match well, but it only lasted one quarter. At the end of the match, the three hopefuls lined up on the scoresheet had between 2 and 10 minutes. Erwan Merlin scored his first career professional points (3 points).
Parisian collective demonstration
For its part, Paris is full of confidence. A few days after returning to victory away from home in the EuroLeague, the men of Francesco Tabellini were very serious and focused. Particularly in defense, where they gave nothing on half court to their Alsatian opponents. And this until the end, as illustrated by this “We can’t stop playing! » of the Italian technician in the last quarter, when the gap was 20 points. A perfect match to prepare in the best possible way for the reception of Monaco in the EuroLeague, against whom they have three consecutive defeats.
“Facing this surprise team, it was important for us to play our game, to be aggressive and fast” rightly confirmed Mohamed Faye (4 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks) after the match, at the microphone of La Chaîne l’Équipe. At the conclusion of these numerous counterattacks, Yakub Ouattara et Daulton Men were able to shine with 12 points each. The second managed two magnificent dunks, including one on alley-oop.
But the best assessment of the match is once again Nadir Hifi (27). In just 18 minutes, the Franco-Algerian even broke his career record for rebounds (10), to which he added 20 points on 7/11 shots and 5 assists. Overall, the entire Parisian collective worked. A perfect match to prepare in the best possible way for the reception of Monaco in the EuroLeague, against whom they have three consecutive defeats.
“Yes the context was complicated, but that’s still no reason to be at -30. I think we made a lot of mistakes, me first and foremost. We need to be more in the fight. We know that things go very quickly with Paris, if we take a run we know that behind it it’s difficult to come back. Especially with 7 professionals. It’s a shame, but it shows us the work that has to be done to compete with these teams. We are 0-3 against EuroLeague teams. Now we know where we want to go, but we remain humble, there is still a lot of work. »
Jean-Baptiste Mailleat the microphone of La channel l’Équipe after the meeting
Paris hits hard against Strasbourg in the top-of-the-table clash! 🤯#BetclicElite #Basketball pic.twitter.com/wF1ch7FUIR
— Betclic ELITE (@Betclic_ELITE) January 13, 2026
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