Edon Maxhuni joined the ranks of his new French club with quite a rush. The Finn, who started off the bench, immediately became the hero of Le Portel in the opening game.
Joined the crew that got stuck in the bottom mud in the French basketball series last week Edon Maxhuni25, made a stunning debut to lead ESSM Le Portel to a surprise victory over second-placed in the series on Saturday, Tuomas Iisalon from coached Paris Basketball.
The quarterback, who is part of the key team of the Finnish national basketball team, signed a comprehensive contract for the fall season, with an option for both parties for the spring season 2024.
Susijeng’s back man stole almost all the headlines in his first match as an “emergency relief player” after emerging as a hero from the bench.
In the match that ended in a 90–86 away victory, Maxhuni, the most prominent corsair manufacturer on his team, scored 19 points, dished out six assists and grabbed two rebounds. He knocked in 3-pointers with an accuracy of 3/4, and at the free-throw line the sieve was perfect, 8/8.
Played for Parisians Mikael Jantunen your size powers 9/5/3s. Despite the loss, Paris Basketball, led by Iisalo, continues in second place in the series. It has won five of the seven league matches it has played. The top team also plays in the Eurocup this season.
At the top of the series is Monaco, who have won all seven of their matches.
Le Portel, represented by Maxhun, ranked 14th in the 18-team league, lost the first five games of the season and lost the team’s leading playmaker, the back Benoit Mangini for long sick leave.
A poor start and Mangini’s injury were the factors that made Maxhun’s recruitment possible. There were no high-quality defenders without a contract in Europe until recently.
Maxhuni played in the Asian basketball World Championships in the Finnish team with an average of 7.2 points and 3.8 assists.
– Edon is first and foremost a playmaker. Of course, he must also bring other inspiring and positive elements to the table. We lost the team leader to illness and there are ten new players in the group. The team has also gotten younger. There are enough challenges from the beginning of the season, said Le Portel’s coach Eric Girard.
Le Portel will next face Boulogne in the cup match on Tuesday, and next Sunday they have an important league match ahead of them, where Cravelines Dunkerque, who are at the bottom of the French league, will also play at home.