Discover the reactions of the players, the president and the coach of ASVEL after the victory in the French women’s basketball championship at the expense of Villeneuve d’Ascq.
Sandrine Gruda (pivot):
“It’s magic, it’s incredible, I have no words. It was wow! It was hard, you have no idea. Being back to the wall is not easy, but obviously it works well for us. Emotionally, it was intense. What makes our team strong is its willingness to react. It’s nice for me to win a second title, after the one with Valenciennes in 2007. I came back (to France, editor’s note) for that. We had to put actions behind words. It’s beautiful ! »
Julie German (leader):
” It is enormous. I was there at the very beginning of ASVEL’s history, it’s nice to win this second title. We’ve been waiting for it for a few years. We knew it was going to take time to create our identity. We were mentally strong to hold on, because we knew they were going to fight. It was played on details, but they were in our favor today. »
Tony Parker (Chairman)
“I’m so proud of the girls. They went to look for him. It was not easy. It was a long season. But it ends on a good note, at home, it’s huge. We have a lot of experienced players and they all came here to win a title, and we did that. That’s two trophies this year, European champion, French champion. And it’s not over, it’s only the beginning. (on the fact that he wore the jersey of Marine Johannes). With Marine, we started the story four years ago. She’s a special player, we have a special relationship and I’m really happy for her. It was not easy for her. »
Marine Johannes (back)
“I am exhausted. (she sobs). We’ve been waiting for four years and I’m really happy to be part of this team. We are ASVEL, supposedly we have the best budget, we have the best players… it’s never easy. We just closed mouths (after the defeat in the final last year against Bourges, editor’s note). We deserve it so much, we have worked a lot. We played a lot of matches, we gave everything, we were knocked out, the season was endless. I’m so proud of the team. (on his situation in the France team) I will talk about that later. There, I just want to enjoy”
🎙 The words of Marine Johannes, full of emotions after the title! @basketlfb @asvel_feminin #PlayoffsLFB #SEFbasket #championnedefrance pic.twitter.com/tw4c9cvnlk
– Sport in France (@sport_en_france) May 22, 2023
David Gautier (coach)
“When you come to ASVEL, you come to win trophies, but it’s always easy to say. Doing it is always harder. At 61-61, the two teams were at break, and these two “2 + 1” (a basket + the free throw, editor’s note) changed the match. The girls went looking for it with their hearts, it’s great. »
Comments collected at the microphone of Sport in France
