Two small dribbles to concentrate, as many small steps to get moving, a gesture worthy of a basketball player and a ball that pierces the net: Andreï Bykov caused a sensation on Tuesday by scoring a basket from the middle of the field at mid -time of Act II, in Saint-Léonard, of the SB League final between Friborg Olympic and Spinelli Massagno.
“I was pretty lucky,” laughed Andreï Bykov, contacted by telephone on Wednesday after having rewatched the scene a dozen times on his cell phone. I played basketball at school, I loved it, and we even had a basket in my neighborhood in Marly. Afterwards, I didn’t really have the physical predispositions to go further (sic). But I remember that when we had training in the summer, in Guin or Belfaux, we played basketball in our free time. One of the little games was to score from the middle of the gym. So maybe it was useful for me to make all these shots into space.”
Accustomed to full rinks during his career, Andreï Bykov admits to having felt a certain adrenaline rush before his shot. “We had a lot of pressure because there were people (editor’s note: 2200 spectators) and we didn’t want it to turn into ridicule, he laughs on the line. I just wanted my shot to go straight, the rest is luck. But it was a great feeling afterwards, a moment a little out of time. I think I can say it was an incredible moment in my life.”
Guests of honor from Friborg Olympic, with his friend Julien Sprunger, Andreï Bykov also kicked off the meeting. “It was even more stressful than the shooting to find yourself between Arnaud Cotture and Keith Clanton (editor’s note: both players are over 2 meters tall). They are really impressive so I didn’t want to make a mistake. The shoot was just fun.”
Let the Friborg amateur league clubs rest assured: Andreï Bykov has not planned a career change in basketball, after having spent his entire career at Fribourg Gottéron. “Maybe a little football but we’ll see,” he explains. At the moment, the only sport I do is chasing my daughter. And that takes a lot of energy.” The joys of a recently retired 36-year-old dad.
