They don't slow down. The Elan Aveyron players signed a fifth success in five matches, Sunday at La Primaube, by overcoming Castelnau II (68-52). Enough to allow the relegated from Nationale 3 to confirm their good start, they who share the head of their Prénationale group with La Croix d'Argent and Rivesaltes, also authors of a flawless performance.
This series shows that the Aveyronnaises have digested the trauma of relegation well. “We had time. From the month of February we knew that we would not maintainrecalls Nicolas Fleets, the coach. The first step to overcoming this disappointment was to start winning back matches at the end of last season. Then, the players took a good break this summer, we didn't talk to them about basketball. And now, we're getting back to enjoying playing and also winning.”
After five seasons of trying to stay on the floor above, the Elan girls have once again managed to string together good results. “Groups are formed more easily in victory than in defeatnotes the coach. We are now doing to others what we were subjected to in previous seasons.”
Without Laura Sincholle but with young people
On the staff side, the coach had to deal with the injury of one of his executives, Laura Sincholle, injured in a calf and who may not return before the start of next year. But he was able to incorporate young players into the rotation. This is particularly the case of Pauline Combelles, an U18 player who made her first appearance in the Prenational this weekend. “We can offer playing time to young peoplehe specifies. They are at the level, whereas it was more difficult in Nationale 3.”
However, behind these good results, Nicolas Fleets remains cautious: “Regarding the content of our performances, I note that we alternated between the good and the less good. This was again the case on Sunday: we were down 20-12 at the end of the first quarter, but behind, when the machine started, it was very positive but we have not yet dominated a match from start to finish.
Big pieces to come
He also puts forward the circumstance of a fairly favorable timetable for the moment. Pauline Bouissou's partners have indeed beaten four of the last five teams in the standings. And we will still have to wait before they measure themselves against the two other still undefeated teams, since they go to La Croix d'Argent at the beginning of December and will welcome Rivesaltes at the beginning of January, upon returning from the truce.
“This gives us time to improve in the game, but we must not make any mistakes in the meantime”says the coach. But he still refuses to talk about objectives. “We haven't set one, we're not talking about a rise, I have the impression that the girls don't like the pressure that this can bringhe assures. What we want is to have fun, to win matches. And if there are enough of them to play the climb, that will be so much the better.”
