Like every end of the weekend, “Le Parisien” invites you to come back to the main highlights and club results – excluding football – in Île-de-France.
The disappointment: the small match of the giant Wembanyama
BASKET. The arrival of Nancy on Friday during the 23rd day of Betclic Elite will not remain a great memory for Victor Wembanyama. Quickly penalized by faults, the Metropolitans prodigy was glued to the bench for a long time before returning to the floor at the end of the match. In the end, the Mets garnered a third success in a row (93-87) – and consolidated their place as runner-up to Monaco – but the probable future number 1 in the NBA draft had one of his least prolific matches.
He finished with a stat sheet far from his usual standards with 14 points (his 4th lowest score of the season), 6 rebounds (he took less than once this season) and 3 assists in 26 minutes. He was limited to 5 points for a long time before showing the extent of his talent in a few minutes and stacking 9 in a row (91-75, 37th). Facing Asvel on Tuesday, Wembanyama will have to raise his voice.
The figure: 16,319 spectators
BASKET. Never has a championship match for an indoor sport (basketball, handball, volleyball, hockey, etc.) attracted so many spectators in France. This Sunday the Nanterre club set the new record of its kind during its event match against Asvel in a packed Paris La Défense Arena. The previous record was already held by the Nanterriens and dates back to 2018, during their first foray into the lair of the rugby players of Racing 92 which was still called the U Arena. 15,220 tickets were then sold. A figure pulverized this weekend.
Even the Accor Arena in Paris cannot accommodate so many people. The sold-out NBA game in January did not reach that mark. The last All-Star Basketball Game, also sold out in December, attracted 15,833 fans. They were 11,277 during the Paris Basketball match in the former Bercy in January, 10,400 for the one at Roland-Garros.
The defeat of too many: The Levalloisiennes relegated
VOLLEY. There was no miracle! Only one year after their historic accession to the Women’s League A, the Levallois volleyball players are preparing to leave the top level in France. Their defeat in four sets on Saturday, during the 23rd day of the championship, at their neighbors Stade Français Paris Saint-Cloud was one too many. 13th the promoted club is 11 lengths behind Chamalières, the first non-relegation. A handicap now impossible to recover with only two days and 6 points left in play. With only 2 successes in 23 days, this outcome had become predictable, inevitable, for several weeks. Relegated to the field, Levallois can still hope to stay on the green carpet.
For their part, the Parisiennes of the Stade Français Paris Saint-Cloud are finding their way back to success after two straight defeats in the league. They remain in 3rd place in the Women’s League A.
The surprise return: Amara Sy comes out of retirement for the good of Cergy
BASKET. He had sworn that he had definitely put the sneakers away in the locker in the locker room. And yet. Ten months after having played – with Paris Basketball on May 16, 2022 – her 586th and last match of a long and beautiful professional career of 23 seasons, Amara Sy has brought out the sneakers and the jersey… for the good of the Spartans of Cergy- Pontoise. The club from its beginnings, of which he is the president and which is currently struggling to stay in National 1. A rescue mission which therefore pushed the Admiral – one of his nicknames – to come out of retirement on Saturday evening.
A successful comeback. At 41, the number 95 – like the number of the department, her traditional number 5 having already been taken by her younger brother Mamadou – on the back, Amara Sy was one of the architects of the beautiful victory of Cergy-Pontoise facing the young shoots of the Federal Center (81-65) during the first day of the playdonws. A clash of generations that the one who also holds the position of sports director at Paris Basketball ends with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocks. To stay in NM1, Cergy-Pontoise will have to finish in one of the first three places in group C.
The image: women shine in wheelchair rugby
The 3rd edition of the Women’s Cup, an unmissable international women’s wheelchair rugby tournament, was held this weekend at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, at the Emile Anthoine gymnasium. A few months from the wheelchair rugby Worlds, which will take place in October 2023 in Paris, this inclusive event allowed spectators to see the best players in the discipline. The tournament was won by Great Britain.
The results
BASKET. Betclic Elite (23rd day). BOULOGNE-LEVALLOIS-Nancy 93-87; Strasbourg-PARIS 96-76; NANTERRE – Asvel 61-82
HANDBALL. Women’s League (17th day): Mérignac – PARIS 92 27-27
HOCKEY. Ligue Magnus (quarter-finals): Gap – CERGY-PONTOISE, 3-4 Saturday (match 3) and 3 pens to 2 (3-3 ap) Sunday (match 4).
VOLLEY. Ligue A (24th day): PARIS – Nantes-Rezé 0-3; Cambrai – LE PLESSIS-ROBINSON 2-3. Women’s A League (23rd day): STADE FRANCAIS PARIS SAINT-CLOUD – LEVALLOIS 3-1.