Paris wins the Leaders Cup

Published on February 22, 2024

The first title in the Club’s history. This Sunday, Paris Basketball won the Leaders Cup with a victory over Nanterre 92 (90-85).

The match

Nadir Hifi and his team-mates found the resources they needed to overcome JSF in a tightly contested duel against their neighbors from the Paris region.

With a 14-point lead in the 2nd quarter, Paris thought they’d done the hard part… But they didn’t count on the tenacity of the team coached by the experienced Pascal Donnadieu. We had to hold out to strike gold.

It was finally in the 4th quarter that the final was decided. And for once, Paris relied on its small in stature but huge in talent: Nadir Hifi and TJ Shorts. The former put Paris back in front with 2 minutes remaining, the latter finished off the opposition with a lay-up 45 seconds from time.

And your MVP is TJ Shorts !

The Irvine native is not only MVP of the match, but also of the competition. TJ was awarded the Ludovic Vaty trophy for best player of the competition. With 26 points, 2 assists and 3 steals against Nanterre, he rounded off his weekend and that of his team perfectly.

Ah donc c’était pas un rêve ?
Bon lundi à tous 🖤❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/9xIKOBTbUk
— Paris Basketball (@ParisBasketball) February 19, 2024

What’s next for Paris

The Parisians will now be able to savour the moment, but above all – for some of them – to get some rest. A well-deserved break for Tuomas Iisalo and his men, who return to the pitch on Sunday March 3, in Blois.

Meanwhile, Nadir Hifi (France) and Leon Kratzer (Germany) have been called up by their countries to start the EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers.