London Lions hail their ‘biggest crowd ever’ during EuroCup thriller with Paris Basketball
London Lions enjoyed a bumper crowd for their dramatic over-time EuroCup defeat to Paris Basketball on Tuesday night.
In what proved to be one of the games of the season, Paris needed two extra periods before bagging the 106-102 victory over the Lions.
This was London’s maiden defeat in Europe this season after kicking off their continental campaign with three-straight wins over Venezia, Hamburg and Prometey.
Paris, who also entered the match with three wins under their belt, were pushed to the limit at the Copper Box Arena.
After a relatively close first half, the Lions turned on the style in the third quarter and took a 66-56 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of regular time.
The French side rallied and found themselves 84-81 up with six seconds remaining in the fourth and final quarter. In dramatic fashion, London’s Sam Dekker brought the house down with an emphatic triple to take the match into overtime.
Ultimately, it was the visitors who powered their way to victory courtesy of a 9-0 run in the second extra five.
6152 fans in the crowd aka OUR BIGGEST CROWD EVER! 🦁❤️@EuroCup #WeAreLondon #RoadToGreatness #BritishBasketball pic.twitter.com/Dw1iwdAnbG
— London Lions (@LondonLions) October 24, 2023
Despite the result, London will be buoyed by a bumper crowd of 6,152 which the club hailed as their ‘biggest crowd ever’.
The Lions return to British Basketball League duties on Friday when they take on the Newcastle Eagles.