The discrepancy is striking.
Terrible.
Acclaimed by their supporters, the ex-Nanterrien Hugo Invernizzi and the Limoges players come out of the field like circus heroes.
Surrounded by a happy and noisy hedge of honor improvised by the supporters present who celebrate the success of Limoges (70-85).
A few meters away, while the players of Paris Basketball leave the ground with their heads down, that part of the public already leaves the room, the volunteers of the club mechanically install a platform on the parquet floor of the Halle Carpentier for a ceremony in l honor of Amara Sy.
The veteran interior (40 years old) of Paris Basketball, the player with 21 seasons and 585 Pro A games, played his last match in the Parisian lair before hanging up his sneakers and his tunic.
NUMBER 5: ADMIRAL AMARA SY pic.twitter.com/QUG3Pr7OqX
— Paris Basketball (@ParisBasketball) May 10, 2022
A few moments later, "the Admiral" (one of Sy's nicknames) climbed onto this podium.
In a Halle Carpentier plunged into darkness, Sy, surrounded by his children, his family and his loved ones, receives praise and gifts.
At the end of a long speech, he even manages to make the fans smile again.
But, despite real emotion, the heart was not really there.
The party envisaged, hoped for, dreamed of, did not really take place.
The fault in Limoges who won (70-85) on Tuesday evening, after an unbreathable match until the end and in front of the legend of French basketball Antoine Rigaudeau.
Present at the club since the beginning of the adventure in the summer of 2018, the back Juhann Bégarin (19 years old) and the pivot Ismaël Kamagate (21 years old) have - undoubtedly - played their last matches in the Parisian lair.
But for them too the exit is missed.
Despite the presence of many NBA “scouts” (recruiters), they missed their final match in Paris, accumulating 7 points and 8 rebounds between them.
They weren't even in the Parisian 5 at the end of the match.
We do not know what the future holds for them but it should be written quickly on the other side of the Atlantic.
The first, drafted by the Boston Celtics last year, will join the legendary franchise in the coming days.
The second is about to follow in the footsteps of his partner.
The Parisian, who registered for the future Draft (June 23), will fly away to his NBA dream.
But they will have to wait a little longer to land on American soil.
While the tickets were already reserved, they will indeed have to stay to play the last match of the season at Levallois next Tuesday.
A crucial game.
Everything will be played in Levallois next week pic.twitter.com/K370JLtFNb
— Paris Basketball (@ParisBasketball) May 10, 2022
While he thought he was safe from the relegation zone after a success against Gravelines (91-87) in early April, the promoted finds himself today under the threat of an express return to Po B. The fault at a completely failed end to the season with now six losses in the last seven days.
To save yourself, you will either have to win at the neighbor - who can always finish in first place - or wait for a false step from Fos to Portel or from Orléans to Gravelines.
The danger has never been so real.
Relegation would put a serious halt to this club with international ambitions and which is due to settle in September 2023 in the brand new 8,000-seat arena Porte de la Chapelle.
But this disaster scenario is no longer science fiction.