Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez

Leagues

Founded

1908

History

Élan Béarnais Orthez
(1931–1989)
Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez
(1989–2008)
Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez
(2008–present)

Arena

Palais des Sports de Pau

Capacity

7,707

Location

Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France

Team colors

White and Green

President

Maher Abid

Head coach

Claude Bergeaud

Championships

9 French Championships
3 Tournoi des As Cup
3 French Cups
1 Semaine des As Cup
1 Korać Cup

Website

elan-bearnais.fr

Uniforms

Home

Away

Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez is a French professional basketball club based in Pau.^[1]^[2] They are currently competing in the LNB Pro A, and play their home games at the Palais des Sports de Pau. They are one of the most successful clubs in French basketball history, as they have won nine French championships and had European successes as well.

The Palais des Sports, home arena of the team

History

The Élan Béarnais was founded in 1931 in the town of Orthez. Prior to that, the basketball club was just a section of the Orthez sports club, founded in 1908. It was not a "club" in the modern sense, but rather a sponsorship created by clerics to enable the local youth to play sports.

The club first reached the top level of French professional basketball in 1973. They were immediately relegated back to the second division, but returned to the top flight in 1976. The club then made their European debut one year later, in 1977, by qualifying for the FIBA Korać Cup. Their ascent continued by winning the FIBA Korać Cup in 1984, defeating Crvena zvezda in the final in Paris (Palais des sports Pierre-de-Coubertin). This was the first of many pieces of silverware that would be added to the club's trophy cabinet over the next two decades.

More success followed as the Élan Béarnais were finally crowned champions of France for the first time, winning back-to-back titles in 1986 and 1987. This earned them entry into the FIBA European Champions' Cup (present-day Euroleague). Despite their status as newcomers, they were anything but intimidated, completing their maiden campaign of 1986-87 with a shock 3rd-place finish and a perfect record at home. It was a magical run, as they defeated European giants or traditional clubs of European basketball like Žalgiris, Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv, Real Madrid, Zadar and that season's champions, Tracer Milano, on their home court, La Moutète. The Élan Béarnais would remain a fixture in European competition every season thereafter, until 2008, setting a European longevity record of 31 years in the process(1977–2008).

As this humble club from a village of 12,000 people at the foot of the Pyrénées blossomed into a power of European basketball, a move to a bigger city became necessary. The club changed its name in 1989, becoming the Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez, and moved to the city of Pau, after the inauguration of the Palais des Sports in 1991. This move was made possible by the visionary efforts of two men: Pierre Seillant, the beloved longtime president of the club, and André Labarrère, then-mayor of Pau. Thanks to them, the Palais (still today the largest basketball-centric arena in France) was built, and the Élan were able to remain in their home region of Béarn.

With the relocation complete, the club carried on cementing their status as the dominant force of French basketball, winning seven more league championships over the next thirteen years. The club's total of nine championships ranks them third behind ASVEL and Limoges for the most of any team in the history of French professional basketball. The last one came in 2004, the second of back-to-back titles, and was the culmination of a golden-age for the club. The previous season, 2003, was arguably the most spectacular in the history of Pau-Orthez, when the breathtaking abilities of two homegrown, young talents named Boris Diaw and Mickaël Piétrus spearheaded the Élan Béarnais to a sweep of all three French trophies (Le Championnat, Coupe de France and Semaine des As). Diaw's campaign won him the League MVP award for French players, and following the season both he and Pietrus were drafted in the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft.

Unfortunately, due to exodus of talent, a lack of coaching stability, and financial problems, the success of the club steadily waned from 2004 on, until rock-bottom was reached and the previously unthinkable happened: in 2009, the Élan Béarnais were relegated to the LNB Pro B after finishing in last place. It was their first stint in the second division since 1976. This disappointment was used as an opportunity to re-structure and re-strengthen the club, but although they earned immediate promotion back to the Pro A in 2010, their struggles continued, and they were relegated for a second time in 2012. However, the Élan once again wasted no time in climbing directly back to the top-flight, and in the 2013-14 season they narrowly missed out on qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2006. With club-legend Didier Gadou entrenched as the General Manager, and former title-winning head-coach Claude Bergeaud back at the helm on the sideline, the future is bright once-again for this proud club. They remain in a tussle for a playoff berth halfway through the 2014-15 season.

In 2008, the club underwent a minor name-change for the second time in their history, becoming the Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez. The city of Lacq's inclusion in the name and entrance onto the director's board strengthened the club's Béarn identity. For their part, Lacq, located just north-west of Pau, now provides funding to the club.

Rivalries

The Élan Béarnais' biggest rival is Limoges, another legendary French club, and they have been trading blows with one another for national supremacy on the hardwood, both figuratively and literally, since the early 1980s. In the 22 seasons between 1983 and 2004, the two clubs combined for 18 championships, and multiple games between the two teams resulted in fights amongst the players, including one that ended in a brawl between Élan supporters and Limoges players at their old Orthez venue, La Moutète. ASVEL is also a fierce rival of the Élan Béarnais, and games against both of these teams are referred to as the "Clasico's" of French basketball, receiving tremendous hype from the media and fans.

The main personalities who participated in the élan Béarnais / CSP Limoges rivalry of the years 1980-1990 were Yann Bonato, Gregor Beugnot, Franck Butter, Don Collins, Richard Dacoury, Valerie Demory, Frédéric Fauthoux, Willier Redden, Frédéric Forte, Didier Gadou, Thierry Gadou , Michel Gomez, Paul Henderson, Freddy Hufnagel, Clarence Kea, Alain Larrouquis, Jacques Monclar, Stéphane Ostrowski, Pierre Seillant, Albert Chaminade and Xavier Popelier.

Players

Retired numbers

Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez retired numbers
No.	Player	Position	Tenure
10	Didier Gadou	F	1982–2002

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Elan Béarnais Pau-Orthez roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Nat.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Age
2.0 !SG	5000000000000000000♠0	FRA !	Okobo, Elie	7000191000000000000♠1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)		000000001997-10-23-0000 19 – (1997-10-23)23 October 1997
1.0 !PG	7000200000000000000♠2	USA !	Cooper, D.J.	7000183000000000000♠1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	7001800000000000000♠80 kg (176 lb)	000000001990-12-06-0000 26 – (1990-12-06)6 December 1990
3.5 !F	7000400000000000000♠4	FRA !	Cavalière, Léopold	7000200999999999999♠2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)		000000001996-04-27-0000 21 – (1996-04-27)27 April 1996
2.0 !SG	7000500000000000000♠5	FRA !	Carne, Corentin	7000195000000000000♠1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)		000000001996-06-18-0000 21 – (1996-06-18)18 June 1996
4.0 !PF	7000600000000000000♠6	USA !	Robinson, Antywane	7000202999999999999♠2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	7002100000000000000♠100 kg (220 lb)	000000001984-07-12-0000 33 – (1984-07-12)12 July 1984
1.5 !G	7000700000000000000♠7	USA !	Dean, Taquan
3.0 !SF	7001110000000000000♠11	FRA !	Dussoulier, Lucas	7000202999999999999♠2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)		000000001996-07-27-0000 21 – (1996-07-27)27 July 1996
2.5 !G/F	7001120000000000000♠12	USA !	Lewis, Ron	7000193000000000000♠1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)		000000001984-07-27-0000 33 – (1984-07-27)27 July 1984
1.5 !G	7001210000000000000♠21	FRA !	Bokolo, Yannick	7000188000000000000♠1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	7001820000000000000♠82 kg (181 lb)	000000001985-06-19-0000 32 – (1985-06-19)19 June 1985
5.0 !C	7001230000000000000♠23	ZIM !	Chikoko, Vitalis	7000208000000000000♠2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)	7001910000000000000♠91 kg (201 lb)	000000001991-02-19-0000 26 – (1991-02-19)19 February 1991
3.5 !F	7001310000000000000♠31	Congo !	Mipoka, Jean-Michel	7000198000000000000♠1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)		000000001985-09-28-0000 31 – (1985-09-28)28 September 1985
4.5 !F/C	7001330000000000000♠33	FRA !	Koffi, Alain	7000206999999999999♠2.07 m (6 ft 9 in)		000000001983-11-23-0000 33 – (1983-11-23)23 November 1983

Head coach

Eric Bartecheky

Assistant coach(es)

Laurent Vila
Arnold Bouazza

Team manager

Didier Gadou

Legend

(C) Team captain
Injured

Roster

Updated: April 7, 2017

Depth chart (2016-17)

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	Alain Koffi	Vitalis Chikoko
PF	Antywane Robinson
SF	Ron Lewis	Léopold Cavalière	Lucas Dussoulier
SG	Jean-Michel Mipoka		Corentin Carne
PG	D.J. Cooper	Elie Okobo	Yannick Bokolo

Notable players

All-time Roster

Honours

European competitions

EuroLeague

Third place (1): 1986-87

FIBA Korać Cup

Winners (1): 1983-84
Semi-finalists (1): 1994-95

Domestic competitions

French League

Winners (9): 1985-86, 1986–87, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04

French Cup

Winners (3): 2001-02, 2002–03, 2006–07

Leaders Cup

Winners (4): 1990-91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 2002-03

French Super Cup

Winners (1): 2007

In European and worldwide competitions

The road to the 1983–84 FIBA Korać Cup victory

Round	Team	Home	Away
2nd round	AEK	81–61	77–83
Top 16	Star Varese	92–82	77–75
	Zadar	90–77	93–106
	PAOK	73–58	78–83
Semi-finals	Olympique Antibes	75–68	69–71
Final	Crvena zvezda	97–73

Kit manufacturer

2017: PEAK ^[3]

References

↑ Official website
↑
↑ Pau-Lacq-Orthez FIBA Europe Cup 2017, FIBA.com, 18 January 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.

External links

Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez – current roster
0 Okobo 2 Cooper 4 Cavaliere 5 Carne 6 Robinson 12 Lewis 23 Chikoko 24 Edwards 31 Mipoka 33 Koffi
Head coach: Bartecheky Assistant coach: Vila Bouazza

Pro A
FFBB Awards French League System
2017–18 teams	Antibes Sharks AS Monaco Boulazac Bourg-en-Bresse Chalon-sur-Saône Châlons-Reims Cholet Dijon Gravelines-Dunkerque Hyères-Toulon Le Mans Levallois Limoges Lyon-Villeurbanne Nanterre Pau-Lacq-Orthez Le Portel Strasbourg
Seasons	1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18
Other competitions	French Leaders Cup French Cup Match des Champions
Awards	Awards Most Valuable Player Finals MVP
Other	French clubs in international competitions

Pro B
French League System
Seasons	2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18
Teams	Aix Maurienne Blois Boulogne Caen Charleville-Mézières Denain Voltaire Évreux Fos-sur-Mer Le Havre Lille Nancy Nantes Orléans Poitiers Roanne Rouen Saint-Charmond Vichy

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