Four months after their last official match, this Sunday September 17 marks the start of a new season for our Parisians, the third in a row in Betclic ELITE. On the program: an enticing Home Opener against JDA Dijon, at Halle Carpentier, at 2:30 p.m. For the new coach, Tuomas Iisalo, and for a roster largely remodeled in the offseason, this big poster draws the first stage of a 2023-2024 season which promises to be very important in the development process of Paris Basketball.
The start of a new cycle
The new face of Paris Basketball will firstly be that of the new faces that make it up. Let’s start with the boss of this new sports pyramid, Tuomas Iisalo. The new Finnish coach arrives buoyed by the success of his conquest of the last Basketball Champions League at the head of the German team in Bonn. The Nordic coach arrives with three pillars of his staff already present at his side last season in Germany: his assistants Adrian Kovacs (Hungary) and Julius Thomas (Germany), and the new head of physical performance, the Spaniard Adrian Ariza Medina.
A very international staff, therefore, to manage a roster in which no less than 11 new players appear: the spectacular leader Nadir Hifi, one of the rising stars of French basketball, the talented leader from California TJ Shorts, MVP of the last Champions League, his American compatriots Collin Malcom (winger) and Tyson Ward (winger), in the position of strong winger the French Bandja Sy, Enzo Shahrvin and Maxim Logue, as well as the Finnish international Mikael Jantunen, the pivots Michael Kessens and Leon Kratzer (Germany) and, finally, Chilean international full-back Sebastian Herrera.
This very active recruitment campaign makes the historic Gauthier Denis (26 years old) – a member of the squad since the creation of the Club in 2018 – and the young professional winger Mohamed Diawara (18 years old) the two “survivors” of the fiscal year 2022-2023, alongside assistant coach Bienvenu Kindoki. The Carpentier public will therefore have many “newbies” to welcome very warmly on this last Sunday of summer!
A dynamic to launch against Dijon
New arrivals or regulars of the Parisian jersey: all advance with their eyes fixed on the objectives of a club which will notably seek to explore for the first time the playoffs of the Betclic ELITE and to continue its progress in the EuroCup, after having played in the quarter-finals last season. “ We have ambitionsrecognizes Tuomas Iisalo. And the players we took are players who know how to put themselves at the service of the team to achieve these ambitions. » For his part, TJ Shorts emphasizes: “We start from zero or almost to build something big step by step…”
It will therefore begin with a first big test against JDA Dijon, finalist of the Championship in 2021. A team which also strengthened in the off-season, like the recruitment of full-back/winger Allan Dokossi (ex- Fos-sur-Mer) and pivot Vitalis Chikoko, on loan from Élan Béarnais.
Clearly, this Home Opener will pit two teams against each other who have the playoffs in their sights. To nurture this ambition, a good start is always preferable, as our president, David Kahn, reminded us this week: “Last year, we had difficulty launching our season, in particular because the coach at the time did not yet have all the authorizations to exercise… This season, we will have to perform well from the start, and that will start by a big match against Dijon. »
An ever stronger bond with the public
Today, players will need all the passion and energy of the Paris Basketball community. This desire to create a strong bond with the public, Tuomas Iisalo even underlined several times during the pre-season: “ We have worked a lot and we want to play well in order to generate enthusiasm among our fans. It is this state of mind that will connect us to them and make them proud to support us. We want to create an intense atmosphere around the team. »
Leon Kratzer, our new German international pivot, does not hide his impatience to feel the soul of Carpentier: ” I’m eager to ! We have done several training sessions here, but I am now looking forward to seeing Carpentier full of fans and discovering the Parisian public. We worked hard during this pre-season and now we want the fans to discover our passion, our game and our determination. »
The magnificent skyline of the adidas Arena
Among the key dates of the season, there will soon be October 8 and a big derby at the Accor Arena against the Mets 92. But there will also be February 11, 2024 to highlight in your favorite color. For what ? Because this home match against Saint Quentin, promoted this season to Betclic ELITE, will present the outlines of a historic meeting. That of the official entry of Paris Basketball into the brand new adidas Arena, of which it will be the resident club!
An 8,000-seat venue built for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Arena will offer fans an extraordinary experience, a new way of experiencing a sporting spectacle in Paris. This new place of passion will bring the Club even closer to all the communities that make up Greater Paris.
David Kahn measures the extent to which this high-end equipment will bring about the change in dimension of the Club over the coming months: “Our arena will be the best basketball hall in Europe. It will offer incredible proximity to spectators to make the most of the match. It will be a place that will allow all Parisians to come together around the passion that basketball arouses. » While waiting to discover the magnificent adidas Arena, it is in Carpentier that our Parisians will meet today to open a season like no other!
Come and watch the big debut of Paris Basketball 2023-2024 this Sunday against Dijon, at 2:30 p.m., at the Halle Carpentier, by purchasing your tickets HERE
Do you want to come to the match with the new 23/24 jerseys? It’s here.
PARIS FOR PARIS
2023-09-17 08:43:39
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