By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Paris Basketball marched to the home game against Besiktas being one of the two EuroCup teams with an undefeated record, along with reigning champion Gran Canaria. They were running on an outstanding offense of 101.1 points per game and looked pretty much unstoppable.
Enter the “Eagles” of Besiktas. Behind a tremendous defensive performance, especially in the second half, the Turkish side beat Paris 68 – 63 to force them to their first loss this season.
Matthew Mitchell scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Besiktas while Yigit Arslan had 15 points. They also dropped seven points apiece in the final quarter, including 2-2 free throws each to close the game and secure the win that moves their team to 6-2.
TJ Shorts (22 points) and Nadir Hifi (19 points) were the top contributors for Paris. Their team was up 44 – 32 early in the second half until Besiktas put on a strong response and made a 0 – 10 run to go ahead 48 – 50 with eight minutes to play. Arslan hit a triple for the 53 – 59 and his team stayed up for the rest of the game.
After this result and thanks to their own 92 – 70 road victory over Cluj Napoca, Gran Canaria is now the only unbeaten team in EuroCup. Sylven Landesberg delivered 26 points for the Las Palmas side, just one short of his career-high of 27.
Bryce Jones stood out for Cluj with 18 points, seven assists and five rebounds. The Romanian team dropped to 6-2.
Yoan Makoundou keeps making an impression. This time, the French forward had career-highs 22 points and eight rebounds as Buducnost downed Dolomiti Energia Trento 98 – 96 in new coach Andrej Zakelj’s debut.
McKinley Wright contributed 22 points to Buducnost’s win. Prentis Hubb posted 25 points and six rebounds for Trento, now tied with the Montenegrin team at 3-5.
2023-24 EuroCup Round 8 – Tuesday (21/11) Results:
Cluj Napoca – Gran Canaria 70 – 92
Buducnost – Trento 98 – 96
Bourg en Bresse – Turk Telekom 86 – 67
Hamburg Towers – Wolves Vilnius 71 – 84
Paris Basketball – Besiktas 63 – 68