The match starts in more than an hour, but dozens of people are crowding at the back of the Biscarosse arena. Several dozen others have already passed the ticket check to sit in the three-level stands, made available by the town hall. Or on the plastic chairs placed behind each basket. This meeting between a modest Departmental 3 team and an R2 team has nothing in common. She plays “ sold out ” even.
“ Oh yes, there will be more than 500 of us », Enthusiastically states Cécile Fournier, the president of Biscarrosse Olympique Basket, who saw the places, sold at a single price of 3 euros, sell out at breakneck speed. To the point of causing some disappointment in the heart of this town of less than 15,000 souls, located 70 kilometers south of Bordeaux.
This Sunday, November 26, on the grounds of the L’Arcanson hall, while the volunteers are busy with the final preparations, the opposing players of the Genêts d’Or Haut Mauco Basket are already warming up. They are about to live the basketball experience of their lives at “Bisca”. 
This ” small family club » of 200 licensees has planned a VIP area, still empty, next to a media area. In addition to the local press, AFP, L’Équipe and Le Parisien are announced. Vincent Le Vern, the vice-president, is responsible for welcoming accredited journalists. “ Oh hey, that makes me think that I need to publish the team composition on our networks! », says the communications referent.
“ We’re shooting guys! »
After a few minutes, the man behind all this excitement emerges from the locker room: Boris Diaw. In his solid blue ensemble, the former NBA player appears relaxed. And comfortable in this environment which has nothing to do with the lights and artifice of the Great American League under which he played for 14 seasons, until 2017. Change of scale. The MIP 2006 launched this summer into this crazy bet to win the Landes Cup, what it considers to be the “ departmental supremacy “. Here, we even talk about the Landes World Cup. The 41-year-old man, who grew up in the neighboring town of Mont-de-Marsan, brought with him his court buddies, former high-level players like him: Simon Darnauzan, Nicolas Gayon, the Beesley brothers Kevin and Cédric , Jean-Daniel Barrouillet…
They are all in shorts with him, ready to compete in the 1/16 final of this competition. After an individual introduction of the players to the speaker, then a first team photo session, Boris Diaw asks: “ We’re shooting guys! » Around the field, we find Maxime, 16 years old, member of the same senior team. This is made up of former upgraded U17s, a few thirty-somethings and Boris’s gang, mainly mobilized for the Cup. In the championship, where the team is undefeated (5 victories), the “mixed” group evolves. Maxime is not frustrated not to play. “ We knew it from the start », blurts the young man who wants to take advantage of the “ show “.
Next to him is Tom, 17, just as smiling. “ I learned lots of things with Boris, about screens, vision of the game… “, says the pivot and one of the team’s best scorers in the championship, used to playing down low with the former professional, on the 2-1-2 zone defense. On a normal Sunday, around fifty people come to watch their matches. Seeing more than ten more times for this match is “ extraordinary “. “ Mind-blowing », Qualifies Thomas, 32, also in the group, who grew up watching the MIP 2006 on television. “ Cohabitation is going really well », assures this former France cadet who appreciates the simplicity of the newcomers. Their arrival generated a lot of excitement in their sector: “ Everyone knows, Landes is a village. »
The club now has to manage VIPs like… Thomas Pesquet
“ We all find it hard to believe, it’s a bit of an experience of a lifetime for a club volunteer, especially for a small club, which is very focused on children at the base. This project is a godsend for shedding light on what we do. It’s a lot of effort for the club, we have professionalized ourselves a little casually. Meet security standards, manage a crowd of 600 people, manage VIPs… We didn’t know what VIPs were », describes Matthieu, the match announcer.
The personality section has been very full since our arrival. The former players of the French women’s team, Emmeline Ndongue, Émilie Gomis and Marion Laborde are there and are soon discreetly joined by a spectator who has come to “overshadow” his friend on the floor: Thomas Pesquet. After the meeting, the great basketball fan will be asked for autographs as much, if not more, than Boris Diaw, before disappearing. Lunar. “ We’re getting a little high! ”, the president could say later.
As the fanfare begins to sound, the match begins. On the scoreboard, already 28 points on the clock for Biscarrosse. This handicap corresponds to the difference in group level between the two teams, at a rate of 7 points per stratum. Not helped by these regulations in force in the section, the visitors do not disassemble. This troop of 23 years old on average, which has just reached R2, plays on its speed and comes into contact with the older, taller and more physical veterans. Sometimes overwhelmed by the speed of the opposing passing game, they hang on.
Boris does Diaw
“ We are too permissive in defense! “, say the veterans of Biscarrosse during a time-out, before returning to the game with a “ One, two, three, Bisca! » In fact, the gap stabilizes (56-21 after ten minutes, then 73-37). “ I’m not going to take a time-out every time! », even annoys Paco Laulhé, former coach of Elan Béarnais, at the head of the Boris Diaw team. This 
the latter remains faithful to what he has always been: altruistic. A 3-point basket at the head of the racket, a finish underneath, a few blocks, and above all a quantity of “extra-passes”… Boris is doing Diaw.
Two quarters later, the club finally won… after losing the second half by one point. In the end, there is a 35 point difference. So counting the initial handicap… “ There are only seven points. Without saying that we disturbed them, we were less shocked for 40 minutes and offered some great basketball, that’s the main thing », welcomes Nicolas d’Haut-Mauco, surrounded by three of his players, Louis, Clément and Dylan.
No frustration for the coach who knows that certain Landes basketball players denounce an unfair configuration. Facing Biscarrosse, a national team still in the running could find itself having to make up for a deficit of 42 or 49 points at the start…
Next round in January
“ We haven’t necessarily calculated whether to put more or less, the goal is to win », says Nicolas Gayon, who did not expect this project to generate so much media attention. The former Ermine de Nantes player adds: “ You have to get used to it, try to find your rhythm again. We have to work on our physique, we have to re-train a little, we have to manage to find our bearings too, because we don’t have many. If we want to look good for the future, we have to work a little. » Obviously training every 15 days doesn’t make anything easier. “ They’re old chassis, you have to re-adjust everything! », smiles their coach, according to whom the team has few room slots. The aches? “ We will see tomorrow ! », Returns Nicolas Gayon.
“ The first five minutes aren’t pretty. We’re slow, no cardio. I’m not at the top here… We’re going to improve as we go, that’s why we have to pass laps », Tells us with a smile Boris Diaw, whose next Cup match will take place in January. He, when the final whistle blew, took the time to greet all his opponents. Then he patiently lent himself to the game of autographs and photos with the same generosity.
In the greatest normality. “ I wouldn’t say it’s normal, we wouldn’t get used to it. We get used to it because we don’t want to experience it like groupies. We live in another world, we tell ourselves that we will all come back down, that we will find another reality. But you have to take advantage of it “, judges Matthieu the speaker, while the president of the club savors: “ It was still a great party. » And a nice basketball Sunday in the Landes.
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