To start, a short return to your 10th place in the regular season …
Erwan Croguennec, president of the Landerneau Bretagne Basket: “We could probably have done better. Besides, the girls had set themselves the goal of finishing 8th. But we must not forget that we evolve in the biggest European championship, really super high, the strongest, the most referenced, the densest. Thus, Villeneuve-d’Ascq which is with us in Play-Downs has just won the Eurocoupe. Another example: Tarbes has finished “only” 8th in the regular season but will however compete in the play-off final and is therefore likely to become champion of France. In other sports, there are two or three teams that stand out and we know almost before the start of the championship which will be crowned. In the female basketball league, this is really not the case. ”
You really have to salute and savor this performance. While Toulouse, Charnay and now Chartres have made the elevator between the elite and the lower level, we will start our eighth consecutive season within the female league
And this Wednesday, May 7, at the end of the Play-Downs match, on Wednesday, May 7, you finally ensured your maintenance …
“The group was extraordinary, remarkable in selflessness. You really have to salute and savor this performance. While Toulouse, Charnay and now Chartres have made the elevator between the elite and the lower level, we will start our eighth consecutive season within the female league. It is really a big satisfaction, and a performance that it would be not to minimize ”.
-But, wouldn’t you have saved you some scares and ensure this maintenance earlier?
“We could have taken shelter earlier by winning one of the three games we played outside. Which was not the case. But, fortunately, we won at home on Wednesday. Anyway, play-downs are a system that I don’t like at all. For me, it is the last of the regular season that should go down. And then, if we take the case of Bourges, the girls leave with nothing when they finished in the first place of the regular season ”.
On May 13, you will play the last match against Chartres. You are saved, they are sentenced to relegation. What is the issue of such an encounter?
“We are used to saying that when the season ends with a defeat, we start the next one with another defeat. There is therefore a dynamic to maintain. And then, we play all the matches to win them. It is out of the question to let go ”.
How do you plan next season?
“I am very confident with what draws and this experience which, over the years, has been moving away. Settling in the female league over time, it is synonymous with stability and therefore of serenity. Our ambition is to integrate the Top 8 in the long term. For next year, we will necessarily have a renewal at the level of the players because we are a small club with a small budget and cannot offer girls contracts over several years. On the other hand, the staff is renewed ”.
