Zalgiris Kaunas will face Paris Basketball on the road this Thursday. Before leaving for the French capital, Dustin Sleva, who played for the Paris club at the beginning of his career, shared his thoughts.
“It feels good to have come full circle. The fact that Paris Basketball is now competing in the EuroLeague and that I, representing Zalgiris, can return to where I spent five years of my career is really exciting, but we also have to do everything we can to win,” said the forward.
Sleva spent his first couple of seasons in Paris with Sylvain Francisco and said that even then it was clear what kind of player the latter would become.
“At that time, he was already as talented as he is now. Of course, he is now much more mature as a player, and his intelligence on the court is one of the highest I have ever seen,” Sleva praised his teammate.
Sleva also highlighted the strengths of his future opponents.
“Nadir Hifi is always unpredictable – he can come out on the court and sink four three-pointers in a row. I’ve also known him since he was young, and his progress and the level at which he now plays is really similar to Francisco. Overall, they are a fast-paced team, so it will be important to stop them and show greater physicality in defense,” the American described his opponents.
The game between Zalgiris and Paris Basketball will start this Thursday at 9:45 p.m. Lithuanian time.
