On December 30 at the Accor Arena, as every year, the famous Betclic Elite All Star Game will be held. If the French championship continues to become more democratic and attracts more and more American stars, the French are still very present. On the program the day before New Year’s Eve, a match between a team of French players and a team of international players, a 3-point shooting competition, a leadership competition and the long-awaited dunk competition.
The French team’s major 5 will be made up of: Nando de Colo (Captain, Asvel), Nadir Hifi (Paris), Milan Barbitch (Blois), Joffrey Lauvergne (Asvel) and Bastien Vautier (Le Portel). Note on the bench the presence of young Zaccharie Risacher (JL Bourg) and Mathis Dossou-Yovo (Saint-Quentin). All coached by Sasa Obradovic (Monaco) and Guillaume Vizade (Vichy, Pro B)
On the World Team side, TJ Shorts (Captain, Paris), Mike James (Monaco), Frank Mason III (Nancy), Alpha Diallo (Monaco) and Shevon Thompson (Nancy) will make up the 5 major led by Tuomas Iisalo (Paris) and Julien Cortey (La Rochelle, Pro B). While D.J. Cooper (Roanne), Tyson Ward (Paris) and Aleksej Nikolic (Châlon) will be present off the bench.
During halftime of this all-star game, it is the French youth who will provide the spectacle of the dunk competition. Juhann Begarin (Nanterre), Allan Dokossi (Dijon), Killian Malwaya (Évreux, Pro B) and Tidjane Salaun (Cholet) will therefore be in the spotlight during this high altitude competition. They will have the heavy responsibility of succeeding Yves Pons who set the Accor Arena on fire.
During the leadership competition, the young French guard will once again be well represented with the participation of Lucas Boucaud (Saint-Quentin) and Ilias Kamardine (Vichy, Pro B), who will rub shoulders with the experienced TJ Campbell (Cholet) and TJ Shorts (Paris). Finally, the three-point competition will see snipers Nicolas Lang (Limoges), Edwin Jackson (Asvel), Johnny Berhanemeskel (Gravellines) and Bryce Brown (JL Bourg) to find out who will be the best triggerman in the championship.
The France team won last year under the leadership of Victor Wembanyama and hopes to repeat this year. The end-of-year holiday event therefore has something to delight the fans who will go to the Accor Arena and those who will watch the match on December 30.
