Paris (AFP)
The largest budget of Elite, Villeurbanne seems overarmed to retain his title of French basketball champion, during a season that resumes on Wednesday, with great uncertainties related to the health situation and the Covid-19 pandemic.
In France, keeping your league title is something quite rare in basketball.
Since the beginning of the 2000s, only two clubs have achieved the performance: CSP Limoges, crowned in 2014 and 2015, and before that Pau-Orthez in 2003 and 2004.
Asvel, titled for the 19th time in 2019 (the record for the French championship), seemed to have a workforce capable of achieving its first double since the 1970s last season.
But the Covid-19 pandemic has passed this way: the season was interrupted in mid-March after 25 days, Villeurbanne at this time sharing the lead in the standings with Dijon and Monaco (21 wins).
The League was forced at the end of May, after long weeks of work, to stop the season definitively, without awarding a title.
For this 2020/2021 season, the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to mark the spirits for long months.
And the LNB has made a priority: to finish the regular season, even if it means giving up its play-offs.
The 34 days must end before the deadline of June 15.
If this is not the case, a ranking mechanism established on the results of recent seasons will then be put in place, provided that at least 17 days have been completed.
"We are positioning ourselves with the desire to start our business again in the clubs. It has been a long time or too long since we no longer played basketball. We are doing it very humbly, because it will be a difficult season. We must play, it is our mission, explained Tuesday the president of the LNB Alain Béral, during a remote press conference.
An independent health committee has been set up, according to the health protocol adopted by the LNB.
Before each day, tests will be carried out on
The pre-season preparation matches were severely disrupted, as 40% of meetings with Elite or ProB clubs were canceled.
Monday and the results sent to the League on Wednesday noon.
In the event that two cases of Covid-19 are detected among the players of a team, or three among the delegation (players and management) during a test session, the health committee will have to rule on a possible postponement of the meeting to come up.
- Three-way match with Dijon and Monaco?
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On the sporting front, as last year, Villeurbanne will have to juggle between Euroleague matches and those of Elite, but the recruitment this summer has reinforced the dominant position of Asvel and its status as a favorite in France.
The American Norris Cole, NBA champion 2012 and 2013 with the Miami Heat of LeBron James, made the trip from Monaco, where he played last year, to Villeurbanne.
"I think we have a good workforce, all positions are doubled, for some triplets. It should hold," said the pivot Moustapha Fall, back in the French championship after three seasons abroad, and who joined Asvel.
The Rhone club experienced a strong zone of turbulence in the middle of last season, with the dismissal of its coach Zvezdan Mitrovic, replaced by TJ Parker.
Brother of Asvel's main shareholder Tony Parker, TJ will have his first experience as a main trainer, assisted by Freddy Fauthoux.
Mitrovic has returned to his bench in Monaco, where he was before his two seasons at Villeurbanne.
The Roca Team, reinforced by the arrival of Mathias Lessort, hopes to offer strong resistance to Asvel, just like the JDA of Dijon.
The Burgundy club, which has established itself for several seasons among the best performing clubs in France, won the Leaders Cup in February, and validated its place in the Final 8 of the Champions League (the 3rd European level), which he will play from September 30 to October 4.
A foretaste of what awaits him facing Villeurbanne or Monaco on the national scene.
© 2020 AFP