Juhann Begarin, Nanterre’s winger, winner over Bourg-en-Bresse to reach the Leaders Cup final: “We first won thanks to our collective effort. Players stood out like Ibou (Ibrahima Fall Faye), Justin (Bibbins) or me. We were trailing by 12 points (65-77, 30th minute) but we know that a game is 40 minutes. We had taken a 10-point lead in the first half and they had managed to come back. Why couldn’t we do the same? They had crushed us, we could too and we found more determination. (On the final) We have nothing to lose, we have eliminated two top 4 teams (Asvel and Bourg-en-Bresse), we come without pressure but we have the means to cause problems for Paris.”
Pascal Donnadieu, Nanterre’s coach: “We witnessed a very good match and I would have held the same speech if Bourg had won. The players were simply heroic, they surprised me, they drew on mental, physical, and extraordinary basketball resources. We had the ability to get back in front after being 12 points down, the merit goes to the players. They were exceptional in courage and self-sacrifice. Monaco and Paris, these are two teams with extraordinary athletic dimensions, beyond basketball qualities, we may suffer but we will fight with our weapons, we will not lower our heads now.”
Frédéric Fauthoux, Bourg-en-Bresse’s coach: “We clearly lack physical freshness. We are at a point where it becomes difficult to make repeated efforts. We play all competitions to the fullest, we leave a lot of energy there. Tonight, we found some attacking play, it was enjoyable, but we couldn’t make the efforts on both ends of the court. Nanterre played very well, you can tell it’s a very confident team, with fresh legs, a real state of mind, and we are a bit low on fuel in the engine.”
