Dijon aims to upset Paris again

JDA Dijon travels this Tuesday evening to Paris Basketball’s court for Game 1 of the Betclic ELITE playoff quarter-finals. Two weeks after their surprise victory at the Adidas Arena (95-96), Laurent Legname’s men hope to once again disrupt the regular season leader. But the coach from Var knows that the opponent won’t do them any favors.

𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗔𝘆 – « 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓸𝓸𝓸 𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓮𝓮 » ⚔️

Our Playoffs start tonight! 🏿

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A revenge-seeking Paris, a JDA under pressure

« We know they’ll be waiting for us because they’ll remember their defeat, » says Laurent Legname in Le Bien Public, aware of the challenge ahead for his team. Having qualified for the playoffs at the last minute, Dijon has achieved their season objective. But to go further, they’ll need to recapture the underdog mindset capable of moving mountains.

Facing a Paris team seeking the first French championship title in their history, David Holston’s teammates (still injured) will need to double their focus. Paris, already French Cup winners and led by former NBA player Tiago Splitter, could see several key players leave during the offseason (Shorts, Hifi, Ward, Jantunen). The opportunity is too good not to give everything.

Laurent Legname wants to avoid a blowout

Laurent Legname remains cautious. He reminds that « if mentally we’re not ready to put aside the fact that we’ve reached the club’s objective and we come in too casually, we risk taking a beating. » The Dijon coach insists: he wants to see a fighting team, ambitious and above all, respectful of its values. « I don’t want to lose by 40 there. We don’t deserve that, neither the staff, nor the players, nor the club. »

With a full roster except for David Holston, JDA has the means to trouble Paris. But they’ll need to show the same discipline and commitment as during their recent victory in the capital. The stakes are simple: try to create another upset before what promises to be a heated Game 2 at the Palais des Sports on Thursday.