JL Bourg defeat Besiktas in tense game, rise to EuroCup final vs. Paris / News - Basketnews.com

The 2023-24 EuroCup finals will be played between Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse and Paris Basketball.

Credit: IMAGO/Seskim Photo-Scanpix Credit IMAGO/Seskim Photo-Scanpix

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse defeated Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul in the do-or-die game in the semifinals to rise to the 2023-24 EuroCup finals with a score of 89-63.

Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse / Schedule

Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse82-71 Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul89-63

Up until the beginning of the fourth quarter, the game was competitive, and the deficit had never ballooned to double digits. Overall, the third game of the series was characterized by rough defenses and occasional foul calls.

However, JL Bourg used a strong fourth-quarter performance to down the Turkish team and claim the chance to battle for the EuroCup championship.

Besiktas was deprived of the services of Matt Mitchell before the game due to a possible head trauma after an injury in the series' second game. They also lost Angel Delgado to an ejection and Jonah Mathews, Marko Simonovic, and Samet Yigitoglu to 5 fouls before the end of the game.

JL Bourg also lost Bodian Massa, who was thrown out together with Delgado because the two got involved in an unending physical altercation.

The game was rough around the edges, and tensions often ran high between players with many technical fouls. When JL Bourg's lead had increased considerably towards the end of the fourth quarter, Dusan Alimpijevic was ejected after getting into a long-winded spat with a referee.

In spite of the low basketball quality, Maksim Salash led his team to a victory with 19 points and 4 rebounds for a total of 19 PIR. He was helped by Axel Julien, Isiaha Mike, and Kevin Kokila, who all scored in double digits.

As for Besiktas, the performance of Derek Needham, with 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists, was not enough to save the black-and-white team. Nobody besides Needham scored in double digits.

In the end, there will be a French derby between JL Bourg and Paris in the EuroCup 2023-24 final, which will also be a best-of-three series.

Paris will have homecourt advantage, and the first game will take place on April 9, while the second game will take place on April 12. If there is a need, the third game will take place on April 15.

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