[guignol]

well, i thought there was a french basketball thread somewhere, but found that all the posts about the sport here (a search found over 100!) were in other threads. it's a subject that could use a little boastful boosting on several different levels, and since there's a rugby thread why not start a basketball thread? voilà, c'est chose faite!

to start with, my son's minimes (U-15) team won the district championship in excellence (highest of 3 levels). they were big underdogs in the "final 4" since the club had never entered a team in anything higher than honneur, but they beat everyone like the proverbial redheaded stepchild.

second, the french women's team is european champions! they beat defending champs russia in the final, leading by 19 halfway through the 3rd Q but making it scary at the end, missing all their foul shots among other signs of nerves. we saw them beat greece in a friendly right in our own neighborhood last month with a completely different scenario, losing the first 3 Q's and finishing big.

finally, ASVEL is champion! they pulled a couple of miracles to get by nancy in the semis, then started slow against orleans in the final, but put together a 19-0 run in the second to kill the match. if you didn't know, tony parker has started investing heavily in the club and intends to make it a european power. so far so good!

[prvev]

Very weird to see Pau Orthez get relegated this season.

[guignol]

what to say about limoges these days then? they're having trouble staying in pro B!

[SportBoy333]

ASVEL gets the automatic Euroleague spot and Orleans and Le Mans get qualifying spots ? I read that Nancy is upset and is seeking a qualifying spot and may protest.

[guignol]

nancy can be upset... they must still be smarting from losing their semi to ASVEL:

1st game: the SLUC wins a squeaker at the astroballe 69-70, and with their home record it looks sure they were going to knock us out for the 3rd year in a row.

2nd game: close for 3 quarters but they lose their nerve and end up crushed 53-69

3rd game: nancy up by 10 with 8 minutes to play when lolo foirest goes into hero mode (8 points 90 secs, including 2 x 3pt from about a mile behind the line), ASVEL finishes with a 16-0 run, goes to bercy and the SLUC "has only their eyes to cry with".

[guignol]

it's something i love about basketball: the importance of momentum and nerves.

my son's team went behind at half by 11 points in a game they needed to win against a team they shouldn't have had any problem with.
the coach took them into the locker room (not always done since ht is only 5 minutes) and we could hear her up in the stands. the came out when the referee called for them, not even any warmups.
3rd quarter 36-3!

you see it time and again: a team can be leading another by 12 points, but three straight baskets and the team behind feels they're already ahead and vice-versa.

like the ladies' final against russia: theu played way over their head to be up by 19 (17? a bunch anyway) but when russia started coming back, they went like 1-10 from the line in the last 3-4 minutes. it's called the sphincter dance!

of course you get that in soccer too: like OL against steaua for example, or le mans last year, or years ago in a match against bayern... that one was a draw but you felt like with 10 more minutes we would have won by 2.

[SportBoy333]

Its very hard to follow European basketball in the US so I dont know much about the French pro A but I do try to follow the Euroleague and I'll try to follow ASVEL to see how they do and whatever other French teams if they qualify. I know that no French team has reached the top 16 round since Pau did like 5 years ago and French team's records in Euroleague have been dismal recently. Maybe Paris getting back to Pro A will help so they try to build a large team there. I think ASVEL and Paris are the only 2 French teams that can potentially succeed at the highest level in Europe. Teams like Le Mans and Nancy are too small. Pau and Limouges's glory days are behind them and its too tough to get them back.

[SportBoy333]

I noticed that Lille and Bordeaux have teams in Pro B this season. I hope to see them in Pro A soon. The new football stadium in Lille will have a basketball court so that will be a perfect place for Lille basket to play in. I read rumors about Pau-Orthez moving to Bordeaux but now since they are in the same league it doesnt seem necessary since Bordeaux have a oppurtunity to go right past Pau.