“After the hiccup in Levallois, the time has come for Sylvain Francisco to bounce back in Paris”we headlined on January 31, 2019. Sylvain Francisco, aged 21, was still only at the curiosity stage of French Basketball, revealed the previous season at the Metropolitans 92 before leaving the Levallois club of his own free will in mid-summer, furious with the signing of Roko Leni-Ukic.
He then had to wait until December 10 to find a buyer, in Paris therefore, at the time… red lantern of Pro B! Newly created, the capital club was bogged down in the depths of the second division, defeated seven times in eight games, since Daniel Dillon was far too alone in the lead. Sylvain Francisco was supposed to bring this extra spark to position 1, and the rest of the story is known… After a successful first outing in Lille (18 points), despite a setback (72-84), the native of Sevran had largely contributed to the first series in the history of Paris Basketball: six victories in a row. Enough to see the specter of Nationale 1 recede.
“Four years later against Paris in the EuroLeague? You guys are crazy…”
Almost six years later, Sylvain Francisco will reunite with his former club in a EuroLeague match! Now at the helm of Zalgiris Kaunas, he continues his rise that began at Paris Basketball, where he first flourished under the orders of Jean-Christophe Prat, becoming during his second season there one of the first notable players of Parisian history, a symbol of local identity and above all one of the best young people in Pro B (13 points at 39%, 3.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists).
“I was one of the first players to wear the Paris jersey”he recounted in an interview with Le Parisien. “After what happened to me at Levallois, I do not forget that the coach at the time Jean-Christophe Prat gave me the opportunity to give a new image of myself and to relaunch my career. […] “If someone had told me in 2020 that I would come back to play four years later against Paris in the EuroLeague, I might have said “you’re crazy…” […] I am happy that the EuroLeague dream came true for Paris. From the first year, this was the project. »
Former teammate of sports director Amara Sy during the Pro B days, Sylvain Francisco discovered the Adidas Arena this morning during the photo shoot. With the ambition to show this Wednesday evening to his former supporters, of whom he was one of the first favorite players, that he has truly become a great European…
