London suffer Game 1 blow in EuroCup Semi-Finals against Paris

London Lions

London Lions suffered a tough 99-86 loss to Paris in Game one of the BKT EuroCup Semi-finals at the Adidas Arena in Paris on Tuesday evening.

Paris take a convincing 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series, with a game 3 only being played if necessary.

EuroCup MVP candidate TJ Shorts was unstoppable, finishing with 23 points on 9 of 11 two-point shooting, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

The third quarter of the game was decisive as the Lions were held to just eight points while conceding 25, succumbing to a 14-0 run sandwiching the halftime break.

“Certainly, the way we started that quarter and built a big lead was the key to this game,” Paris head coach Tuomas Iisalo said after the game.

“It generally helps to score 12 points with the opponent not being able to answer,” he joked.

Impressive victory from @ParisBasketball for their Game 1 Semifinal. #RoadToGreatness pic.twitter.com/q08RLZW6E2

— BKT EuroCup (@EuroCup) March 26, 2024

David Nwaba led his team as he scored a game-high 24 points, adding five rebounds, Gabe Olaseni scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds as four London players reached double digits.

Nadir Hifi added 22 points for Paris Basketball.

It was was the third match up between those two teams this season including the double OT thriller victory of Paris over the Lions in London.

Game two of the series will take place this Friday March 29th at the CopperBox Arena.

Box score.

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