The JDA returns to success. Dijon won the second Coupe de France in its history, eight years after the first, by beating Strasbourg (83-70) in the final of a suspenseful match on Saturday at Bercy. Beaten in the final in 2021, the Burgundians won their first trophy since the 2020 Leaders Cup, with Laurent Legname already on the bench, returning in December to replace Nenad Markovic, and after being dismissed from Gravelines-Dunkerque.
They benefited from a favorable table to arrive at Bercy, dismissing in the previous rounds two second division teams, Pau-Lacq-Orthez and Vichy-Clermont, while the SIG had eliminated Monaco in the semi-finals, defending champion and favorite to succeed him. But the Alsatians leave Paris beaten like in 2022 after taking on water at the very end of the match, conceding a 13 to 0 in two minutes to find themselves trailing 83 to 70 45 seconds from the buzzer, the final score.
A warning shot delivered thanks to three award-winning shots, from Leyton Hammonds (11 pts including 3/3 from long distance), David Holston (his only one of the match) then Joshua Obiese (2/2 behind the arc), and two shots -successful frees by Cameron Hunt (13 pts).
But the man of the match for the JDA was the Zimbabwean pivot Vitalis Chikoko (20 pts, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks), whose hot shot at the start of the fourth quarter (six points and a block) had made it possible to carry a first blow to Strasbourg.
It was also he who, under the circle, cleverly shifted Hammonds to the outside for the JDA’s first stab. The Alsatians were carried in the third quarter by Tyrius McGee, who scored 14 of the 19 points, but remained silent in the last period. They will now try to seek qualification for the championship play-offs, far from being acquired, in order to save their season. It was off to a bad start for the Burgundians, who in three days ensured their maintenance before securing their cabinet for an additional trophy.
Bourges players save their season
The Bourges basketball players saved the furniture from an overall failed season by winning their 12th Coupe de France, a coronation synonymous with a ticket to the Euroleague by dominating Basket Landes (76-63), double title holder, on Saturday in Bercy. Eliminated in the quarter-finals of the championship, a first in 30 years, the most successful club in French basketball (including in the Coupe de France) outdistanced the Landaises in the last quarter of a final where both teams demonstrated clumsiness (36% shooting for Bourges, 38% for Basket Landes). Far from the fireworks of the 2022 final (91-88 AD).
“It’s an incredible feeling, only sport can bring emotions like that. At the start of the week we were at our lowest, it was hard, violent because we wanted to go further (in the championship) but we knew we still had a chance to finish well together” underlined Sarah Michel Boury. Like the captain, Berruyer coach Olivier Lafargue did not subscribe to the idea that his team had saved his season: “People believe that we have to win everything… It’s bullshit (bullshit, Editor’s note), all (the clubs) fight like scavengers, there is some crazy quality in this League. Today, I just want to say that we won something.”
Leading by a length before the final period (51-50), the Berruyères started it with an 11-1 (62-51, 35th) which shocked the Landaises, then came back to six lengths before being definitely knocked out by two arrows from Pauline Astier (12 pts) one minute from the buzzer (69-59). But the player of the match for Tango was the Canadian pivot Kayla Alexander (22 pts) who notably achieved a harvest of rebounds (15), sector where Basket Landes was copiously dominated (55 taken to 36, no offensive rebound taken into account). First period).
“We knew that controlling Alexander would be a big challenge and one of the keys to the match. We are going to meet (Dominique) Malonga (1.98 m, in the semi-finals of the championship with Tarbes), today (Saturday) we understood that if we did not resolve this, we were going to miss something” commented Landes captain Clarince Djaldi-Tabdi. Alexis Peterson’s Montoises (23 pts), who were aiming for a hat-trick last achieved by Bourges (2017 to 2019), will try to console themselves and secure their place in the Euroleague via the championship, where they qualified for the semi-finals.
