February 10, 2012
Entente Orleanaise 2009-10, team profile
Orleans
Aldo Curti – Orleans (Photo: eo45.fr)
2008-09 RESULTS
French League
Regular Season
21-9
Playoffs
Finalist
Cup
Finalist
A remarkable climb from the French third division to the brink of a national title in just 16 years of existence has landed Entente Orleanaise Loiret in the 2009-10 Euroleague qualifying round for its very first experience ever in continental competition. The rise of Orleans through French basketball has so captivated locals that it has been necessary to move some of the team's games to bigger arenas in order to fit all the fans who want to attend. Those fans have been justly rewarded, too, as Orleans has made a huge jump during its three seasons in the French first division. The club started in 1993 as the merger of teams from three cities: Orleans, Fleury-les-Aubrais and Saint-Jean-de-Braye.
Roster
#
 Name
Pos.
Height
4
 Cedrick Banks
G
1.90
5
 Ryvon Covile
C
2.06
6
 William Herve
G
2.00
7
 Justin Doellman
F
2.06
8
 Mael LeBrun
F
1.92
9
 Frenc J. Casseus
C
2.11
10
 Aldo Curti
G
1.80
11
 Austin Nichols
F
1.98
13
 Elio Sadiku
G
1.87
14
 Ludovic Vaty
C
2.06
15
 Adrien Moerman
F
2.01
16
 Laurent Sciarra
G
1.92
17
 Anthony Dobbins
F
1.92
-
 Jeremie Douillet
F
2.04
Head Coach: Philippe Herve
If expectations were met by climbing quickly from third to second division in France, the club settled there for more than a decade until finally winning promotion to the French League in 2006. Once at the top level, however, Orleans showed quickly that it means business. It qualified for the Semaine des As cup tournament for the league's top eight teams in its very first season. The club used that fine start as a basis to solidify its place in the French League, only missing that first season's playoffs in a tie-breaker and then staying in the middle of the pack for 2007-08. Last season, Orleans made its great leap forward. It started with a confidence-building run to the final game of the Semaine des As tournament, where Orleans fell short against Euroleague power Le Mans. The team continued working, however, to finish in second place in the regular season for its first-ever French League playoff appearance. A two-game quarterfinals sweep showed that Orleans was for real. In the semis, taking full advantage of its hard-earned homecourt advantage with huge crowds at its back, Orleans found a way to avenge its cup loss to Le Mans with a crucial, do-or-die third-game victory in their series. The heroes were Brian Greene and Adrien Moerman, while legendary veteran Laurent Sciarra stepped up when needed. The French League is rare in Europe for playing a single-game final for its title, but after a quarter of it Orleans led the winningest team in the country's history, Asvel. A miracle was not to happen, however, as a single bad stretch in the second quarter kept Orleans from any comeback attempt to lift the crown. Still, the road from second-division status just three seasons earlier had delivered success few would have predicted: Orleans had not only arrived, but now has a chance to hit the big-time in the 2009-10 Euroleague qualifying round.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Euroleague.net
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