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Party and defeat, the contrasting afternoon of Paris Basket at the Accor Arena

2022-03-20T17:45:06.222Z


If the Parisians suffered their 15th defeat of the season before Monaco and are far from having ensured their maintenance within the elite, they have


“Here everything begins”, “Paris returns”.

The banners deployed in the Accor Arena on Sunday set the tone.

Paris Basket has not yet secured a new lease in BetClic Elite, but its president intends to install his club in the Parisian sports landscape, in the same way as PSG.

And that goes through festive moments, like this meeting against Monaco, one of the behemoths of the French Championship, at the Accor Arena, in the heart of the capital.

The club is not at its first try (a match was organized there in January 2020, at the time of the Pro B) but, this time, it went all out.

If the leaders bet on a 6,864-seat configuration, they have, in response to demand, opened additional stands and pushed the gauge to 8,500 seats.

LET'S GO !

💪



Go Paris 🖤❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/asH3sN31Mi

— Paris Basketball (@ParisBasketball) March 20, 2022

Coming from Franconville with two friends, Julien, “fan of basketball but not necessarily of Paris” did not want to miss the event.

“Apart from football or rugby, we don't necessarily have the opportunity to see big matches in Paris.

The fact that it was at Bercy decided me because it was a guaranteed spectacle.

The Accor Arena therefore looked like the NBA with entertainment, including a Ronisia mini-concert at halftime and a trip to New York to win (the winner will be revealed on April 2, during the match at the Halle Carpentier), and 8,000 spectators thrilled by Parisians who jostled the Monegasques (36-41 at the break), returning to 4 points (65-69) 3 minutes from the end, before folding on the wire (69- 76) against one of the favorites for the title.

"It was a real pleasure to play in this Arena, it's a great way to promote basketball," said Sasa Obradovic, the Monegasque coach.

“I always hate when Paris loses but this match took place in a good atmosphere, with very nice entertainment,” notes Pierre Rabadan, Deputy Mayor of Paris, in charge of sports.

"It was a real party for Paris Basket to play in such a room," adds Dustin Sleva, the Parisian captain.

A controversy with Paris 2024

The place had been well chosen but also the day of programming.

“A basketball game on a Sunday afternoon makes it possible to come with the family,” says Isabelle, who comes with her husband and two children.

“Two years before the Olympic Games in Paris, I wanted to see what basketball looks like at the Accor Arena, breathes Samir, 25.

I'm a real basketball fan, but I'm not sure I'll be able to get tickets to see the French team at the Olympics.

»

🏟 @Accor_Arena


🙌 + 8,000 spectators


✅ @ASMonaco_Basket



Game summary ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/UHLkNXwinG

– LNB (@LNBofficiel) March 20, 2022

Samir, like the fans he met near the Accor Arena, is not really aware of the controversy launched on social networks by certain players of the France team, in particular Evan Fournier.

While on March 10, 2022, "Le Parisien" revealed on its site the growing tensions between the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) and the organizing committee of the 2024 Games about the Parc des expositions site for the preliminary phase, the Blues castigate the choice of the organizers.

Read alsoTransforming the Accor Arena between two concerts, the sacred logistical challenge of Paris Basketball

In particular, the ceiling height of 9 m which would not allow the installation of the huge billboard above the ground.

The case is not over.

Technical points (especially around lighting) are far from settled, while Fiba had requested guarantees for mid-March.

In the end, the decision rests with the organizing committee (even if Fiba may consider that the conditions are not met), which at this stage is not really decided to review its copy.

If Lyon has presented its future Arena to the Cojo and if Orléans has officially applied to host the group stage, it is hard to imagine basketball leaving the capital.

Two years ago, during a project review, Fiba rejected the idea of ​​​​going to the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Lille, a destination accepted on the other hand by the International Handball Federation.

A solution in Paris also looks complicated.

Fiba is eyeing the Porte de la Chapelle Arena, a room specially built for basketball and which after the 2024 Olympics will be the place of residence of Paris basketball.

For this to be possible, however, badminton would have to be moved and a new competition site opened (Coubertin, for example), which is extremely costly financially.

Another solution is to return the preliminary phase of basketball to the Accor Arena, as was planned until 18 months ago.

But, here again, a new game of musical chairs would have to be made and a site for gymnastics, which occupied Bercy during the first week of the Olympic Games, found.

Not as simple as the tweets of French basketball players suggest.

Good news @Paris2024, the France Badminton Open takes place in October….

in Coubertin.


I remind you that Courbertin is unoccupied for the moment for the Olympics and


that we are going to play in a shed because badminton is planned for the moment in the basketball hall.

pic.twitter.com/O5HU4wL9BC

— Evan Fournier (@EvanFourmizz) March 19, 2022

Discussions between Paris 2024 and Fiba are far from over and still look tense.

"Evan (Fournier) was the launcher, I hope that we will continue to push for a solution to be found", summed up Monaco captain and tricolor international Leo Westermann on Sunday, "happy to have played in a room as fantastic as Bercy”.

Source: leparis

All sports articles on 2022-03-20

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