Narrow loss in the Paris derby

Published on April 30, 2026

The Paris Basketball youth team suffered a frustrating loss on Wednesday on the road against Nanterre in a decisive 27th-round league match for the Top 7 (69-73).

The race for the trophy of the future should keep us on the edge of our seats until the end of the regular season! Just like our first team, our young Parisians are neck and neck with Nanterre. A very evenly matched matchup on paper that played out on the court.

On the road, Paris Basketball got off to a strong start. Right from the opening tip, our team set the pace! Barely halfway through the first quarter, the scoreboard already showed a +10 lead in our favor (15-5). The home team, however, relied on Karl Djopmo Komguep—who had 31 points and 6 rebounds—to tie the game just before the start of the second quarter (19-19). Except this time, it was the other way around! Our well-oiled machine maintained its effort before accelerating at the end of the half (41-32).

The second half played out almost exactly like the first. As solid as ever on both ends of the court, our Espoirs kept up the momentum, maintaining a comfortable lead. But the home team continued to rely on their individual talents to make a comeback in the final minutes of the third quarter. First, they tied the game on a dunk by Melvyn Vounang, then took a narrow lead (51-54). Paris Basketball had never trailed since the opening tip-off !

Our Parisian team started the final quarter in this precarious position. Far from being rattled, Julien Mahé’s squad stayed within one possession of Nanterre the entire time, yet failed to score the basket that would have put them back in the lead. Then, right in the clutch, Melvyn Vounang tied the game at 69-69. Our opponents, however, capitalized on their timeout while our players missed the game-winning 3-pointer (69-73).

The 35 points scored by our Swiss duo, Aleksic and Cokara, weren’t enough. Now just one win away from a playoff spot, our Espoirs must win this Saturday against Chalon. Especially since Nanterre faces second-place Dijon.