Betclic ELITE: Le Mans and Paris Basketball open with road wins as season tips off
Round 1 of the new Betclic ELITE campaign delivered two shootouts and a handful of tight finishes. Dijon got things started on Friday, September 25, beating Strasbourg 81-72 at home, with Shevon Thompson posting 17 points and 13 rebounds for the winners against 23 points from Strasbourg's Jaylen Hands. The rest of the slate followed on Saturday and Sunday.
Gilyard and Stewart Jr. headline a wild weekend of scoring
Le Mans survived a high-scoring game at Gravelines, escaping with a 103-97 win. Gravelines won the first quarter 28-22, but Le Mans took the fourth 29-20. The visitors were the better rebounding team all night, out-boarding Gravelines 46-37, and they made the difference at the free-throw line by converting 18 of 26 attempts against just 12 of 18 for the home side. Jacob Gilyard was the story of the day for Gravelines in defeat, finishing with 24 points on 4-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc, 4 rebounds, 13 assists and a staggering 8 steals for a PIR of 34 across 40 minutes on the floor.
Gravelines 97 - 103 Le Mans · Betclic ELITE · 26/09/2026
| Game | PTS | REB | AST | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravelines | Jaren Lewis | 9 | 5 | 2 |
| Mikael Hopkins | 13 | 7 | 3 | |
| Jahel Trefle | 14 | 4 | 0 | |
| César Thenawha Nougha | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tanguy Peyre | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Louka Letailleur | 6 | 5 | 1 | |
| Soren Bracq | 9 | 2 | 1 | |
| Aubrey Dawkins | 22 | 5 | 3 | |
| Jacob Gilyard | 24 | 4 | 13 | |
| Moussa Boune | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Le Mans | Bastien Grasshoff | 17 | 4 | 4 |
| Jordan King | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Carlos Stewart | 29 | 3 | 4 | |
| Moses Wood | 4 | 2 | 0 | |
| TaShawn Thomas | 15 | 6 | 0 | |
| Ugo Doumbia | 7 | 2 | 1 | |
| Wilfried Yeguete | 4 | 5 | 1 | |
| Melvin Ajinça | 17 | 4 | 2 | |
| Lucas Dufeal | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Swann Penda | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| Léopold Delaunay | 7 | 6 | 2 |
Carlos Stewart Jr. answered for Le Mans with 29 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists in 31 minutes, backed by Melvin Pierre Ajinça's 17 points on 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, Bastien Grasshoff's 17 points and 4 assists, and TaShawn Thomas adding 15 points and 6 rebounds. Aubrey Lafell Dawkins tried to keep Gravelines in front with 22 points, 5 rebounds and a block, while Mikael Levon Hopkins chipped in 13 points and 7 rebounds. Gravelines finished with 16 turnovers to Le Mans' 20, but the home side's fourth-quarter fade proved decisive.
Saint-Quentin needed every possession of a back-and-forth game to edge Bourg-en-Bresse 106-103 at home. Bourg-en-Bresse controlled the first half, leading 26-21 after the first quarter and taking the second 28-26, putting the visitors in command. Saint-Quentin flipped the script after the break, and the home side outscored Bourg-en-Bresse 30-17 in the final period. Erick Neal ran the show for Saint-Quentin with 20 points, 2 rebounds, 11 assists and 3 steals for a PIR of 21 in 31 minutes, while Alexandre Vladimir Zivko Gavrilovic added 15 points and 8 rebounds and Matthew Cleveland contributed 15 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
Saint-Quentin 106 - 103 Bourg-en-Bresse · Betclic ELITE 2026-2027 · 26/09/2026
Leaders
| Saint-Quentin | Bourg-en-Bresse | |
|---|---|---|
| PTS | Erick Neal 20 | Assemian Moularé 21 |
| REB | Alexandre Gavrilovic 8 | Lionel Gaudoux 7 |
| AST | Erick Neal 11 | Nathan Soliman 5 |
Team stats
| Saint-Quentin | Bourg-en-Bresse | |
|---|---|---|
| FG | 43.6% | 51.6% |
| 3PTS | 10/30 | 10/23 |
| FT | 28/32 | 29/43 |
| REB | 45 | 36 |
| OREB | 22 | 12 |
Saint-Quentin also lived at the free-throw line, converting 28 of 32 attempts, while out-rebounding Bourg-en-Bresse 45 to 36; the visitors countered by shooting a strong 10 of 23 from beyond the arc. Nathan Soliman kept Bourg-en-Bresse in the fight with 15 points on a perfect 1-of-1 from 3-point range, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a block across 36 minutes, but it was not enough to hold off the home side's late surge.
Elsewhere, Chalon beat Limoges 82-74 despite a 26-point night from Nicolas Lang. In Boulazac, Roanne pulled off an 81-79 road win built on Darius Kordell Johnson's 21 points and 12 rebounds alongside 22 points from Travante Williams, with Aaron Semar Estrada scoring 21 for the home side in defeat. Nanterre rounded out Saturday's action with a 78-64 win over Pau-Lacq-Orthez.
ASVEL and Paris Basketball deliver away from home
Sunday, September 27, closed the round with two road wins. Paris Basketball opened its season with a 78-73 win at Nancy in a game that swung twice. The visitors took an early 21-15 lead in the first quarter, but Nancy clawed back and seized control in the third, outscoring Paris 24-16 to move ahead by five points heading into the final period.
Nancy 73 - 78 Paris Basketball · Betclic ELITE 2026-2027 · 27/09/2026
Leaders
| Nancy | Paris Basketball | |
|---|---|---|
| PTS | Kevin Marsillon-Noléo 20 | Nadir Hifi 23 |
| REB | Isaiah Cozart 9 | Allan Dokossi 10 |
| AST | Enzo Goudou-Sinha 4 | Allan Dokossi 3 |
Team stats
| Nancy | Paris Basketball | |
|---|---|---|
| FG | 42.1% | 42.6% |
| 3PTS | 8/20 | 8/30 |
| FT | 17/27 | 12/16 |
| REB | 41 | 38 |
| OREB | 12 | 13 |
Paris Basketball answered with a 27-17 fourth quarter to close out the win on the road. The home side also hurt itself with 21 turnovers against just 9 assists, compared to 17 assists and 14 turnovers for Paris Basketball, even though Nancy out-rebounded Paris Basketball 41 to 38. Kevin Marsillon-Noléo did what he could for Nancy, scoring 20 points and grabbing 7 rebounds for a PIR of 21 in a losing cause, but it was not enough to prevent Paris Basketball from opening the season 1-0.
ASVEL followed with a 97-85 win at Cholet built on a dominant start rather than a late rally. The visitors scored 58 points in the first half alone, winning the opening quarter 27-24 and the second 31-21 to take a commanding 58-45 lead into the break. Cholet fought back in the third quarter, outscoring ASVEL 23-21, but the visitors closed the game out by winning the fourth 18-17 to protect the cushion built earlier.
Cholet 85 - 97 ASVEL · Betclic ELITE · 27/09/2026
| Game | PTS | REB | AST | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cholet | Malcolm Cazalon | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| Tony Snell | 8 | 2 | 0 | |
| Amadou Fall | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Mohamed Diarra | 6 | 2 | 1 | |
| Digué Diawara | 3 | 3 | 1 | |
| Miralem Halilovic | 6 | 3 | 3 | |
| Lynn Kidd | 10 | 3 | 2 | |
| Noah Locke | 8 | 4 | 1 | |
| Aaron Towo-Nansi | 19 | 0 | 3 | |
| Jarrod West II | 2 | 1 | 7 | |
| Sitraka Raharimanantoanina | 14 | 5 | 2 | |
| ASVEL | Joel Bolomboy | 5 | 6 | 3 |
| Yves Pons | 4 | 3 | 0 | |
| Nate Sestina | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Hugo Besson | 13 | 2 | 4 | |
| Jae Crowder | 16 | 3 | 4 | |
| Marc-Owen Fodzo Dada | 5 | 5 | 2 | |
| Edwin Jackson | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bodian Massa | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Patty Mills | 17 | 1 | 0 | |
| Tremont Waters | 16 | 0 | 5 | |
| Both Gach | 17 | 5 | 2 |
ASVEL shot an efficient 17 of 24 on 2-point attempts and made 13 of 30 from 3-point range, spreading the scoring across Both Tut Gach (17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, PIR 16), Tremont Waters (16 points, 5 assists, PIR 16) and Patty Mills (17 points, 1 rebound, PIR 15). Cholet matched ASVEL's ball movement with 21 assists of its own and shot 21 of 28 from the free-throw line, and both teams finished with 15 turnovers apiece, but the deficit built in the first half was too much for the home side to overcome.
Where the standings stand after Round 1
After one round of games, Le Mans, Paris Basketball, ASVEL, Dijon, Chalon, Roanne, Saint-Quentin and Nanterre all sit at 1-0, while Strasbourg, Gravelines, Limoges, Boulazac, Bourg-en-Bresse, Pau-Lacq-Orthez, Nancy and Cholet start the season 0-1. Round 2 is next on the schedule.
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