They may not be in Dr Henri Giuitta's Sports Hall, but they will still play at home. The basketball players from Fos-sur-Mer, sixteenth in Pro B, will play their 18e championship day against Caen, this Friday (at 8 p.m.) at the Palais des Sports in Marseille, as part of the first episode of the “Marseille Series”. An opportunity for the BYers, in the event of victory, to replenish their confidence after a match. frustrating » during the defeat at their Provençal neighbors Hyères-Toulon last week. “ It's a match that we could and should have woninsists Rémi Giuitta, the coach of the team from Douche. But once again, we showed two different faces between each half. At first exciting on both sides of the floor with real sharing and discipline, then the one where we fall back into our faults in the face of an outburst of aggressiveness », he adds, aware that certain individuals take excessive precedence over the collective. “ It goes with the lack of experience that we all have together, the lack of habits and response. It's been building since August, but the truth is that we've never played two matches with the same team », deplores the emblematic coach who allowed the Yellow and Black to access the Betclic Elite in 2022.
Looking for good news before the break
Facing Caen, seventh in the championship, he will have to cope without stage local Maxime Galin, victim of a ligament rupture in his wrist, without winger Mathieu Wojciechowski, victim of a scaphoid fracture, and very probably without Mamadou Niang, known as “Little”, bedridden after catching the flu. “ This is not an excuse, but this instability means that when we have a small grain of sand in the gears, we do not have the possibility of reversing the bad spiral », adds Rémi Giuitta, worried at the idea that the squad he built this summer will never be able to express its full potential this season. These numerous injury problems have resulted in players being overloaded in terms of minutes of play played. This is particularly the case of Lucas Bourhis or Robert Turner III (see below) who found themselves on several occasions playing nearly 40 minutes in a match, following five absences at the end of November. “ Behind, everyone gets frustrated, you start to doubt and what happened in Hyères-Toulon and Boulazac happens. We have weak times that last too long and cost too much », Analyzes the Fos Provence Basket coach. The latter hopes to be able to end the year 2024 on a good note, before taking a short winter break. But the task does not look easy. “ This is typically a good Pro B team without a starunderlines the Provençal strategist. You should not see them as being promoted because of their budget. This is a team that plays at least the play-offs », he believes, convinced that his BYers would strike a big blow in the event of a victory in Marseille.
Fos-sur-Mer Group: Bouquet, Bourhis, Diallo, Etou, Marie-Anaïs, Minar, Turner III (cap.), Vent, Ventura, Young.
