Paris will defend their title against Monaco !

Cholet clearly hasn’t learned its lesson… No adjustment period was needed for our Parisians, even at La Meilleraie. 48 hours later, our white F1 team continues its charge towards the Finals. Straight ahead, both on the scoreboard and on the court! When Cholet builds offenses from scratch in the half-court, Paris seems to follow. Defensive stops – transition – clinical finishing from long range and close range. A surgical start for our starting five! Very few mistakes compared to the home team’s subdued play. But like on Sunday, Cholet uses a big run punctuated by free throws to try and close the gap during the second half of the first quarter. Full of fire, the game abandons speed in favor of physical intensity. No one doubts that this is a playoff do-or-die game! Despite some less successful attempts, our Parisians hold on for a tie at the end of the first 10 minutes (25-25). Forced to defend high up the court in their own half, our players relied heavily on three-pointers from around the arc to counter the Reds’ aggressive attacks. The first quarter was slow to get going, with the defenses dominating. Then the game picked up speed and became more fluid, especially for us. Fewer long plays, more instinctive ones! This led to a fast-paced end to the half with constant lead changes. Our opponents maintained their momentum, even though their long-range shooting was a significant handicap. This was a problem Paris Basketball couldn’t afford to ignore. The explosive performance of an unstoppable Nadir, once he got going, gave us a narrow lead at halftime (51-50).

The final minutes are breathless, tense… Neither team scores a single point for almost a minute. This drought ends with 30 seconds left on the clock when Diarra makes one of two free throws (90-91). Last chance for Paris. Nadir looks at Diarra, throws down a step-back, and sinks a clutch basket !

They did it ! Our Parisians are in the Finals !