If BC Khimki crushed Budivelnik's resistance in the second round of Euroleague Qualification without any problems, then the opposition between Le Mans and its compatriot ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne kept all the basketball lovers in suspense until the last seconds. In the first match at home Le Mans won — 85-75, while on the road in a complex ending it managed to retain the desired difference, having conceded only 8 points — 63-71.

HISTORY

Le Mans was founded in 1939. Le Mans is one of the oldest teams in France and has a long story to tell. Its first trophy was conquered back in 1964, when it lifted the French Cup. The club proved its commitment to consistency by returning to the cup final again the next season and once more in 1970. Le Mans followed its first national title in 1978, the second one in 1979. The club won the third title in 1982. In 2002-03, Le Mans finished third in the French League regular season, which set up its outstanding 2003-04 campaign. Le Mans won the French Cup and finished first in the French League regular season, although it lost in the playoff semifinals. Its ULEB Cup season was bittersweet too, as Le Mans missed the playoffs by a single victory. In the 2005-06 season, Le Mans won both the French League and Semaine des As titles by playing crowd-pleasing basketball under Vicent Collet, a Le Mans legend after 16 seasons as a player and coach. That success led to its first Euroleague appearance, in 2006-07. The past few seasons have been similar, with several narrow Euroleague losses keeping the team from the Top 16, while the French League playoff runs came to an end in the semifinals. Last season did bring some consolation in the form of the Semaine des As title.

THE CITY

Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.

Its inhabitants are called Manceaux and Mancelles. It has been host to the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race since 1923.

Main sights of Le Mans

Le Mans has a well-preserved old town (Cité Plantagenêt, also called Vieux Mans), where the cobbled streets and half-timbered house fronts provided setting for Gérard Depardieu in Cyrano de Bergerac (1989) and a cathedral: Cathédrale St-Julien, is dedicated to St Julian of Le Mans, who is honoured as the city's first bishop. The population of Le Mans is about 150 000 people.

There are remnants of a Roman wall in the old town and Roman baths by the river. These wall are highlighted every summer (July and August) evening in a light show that tells the history of the town.

Arboretum de la Grand Prée

Jardin des Plantes du Mans

Musée de la reine Bérengère, a museum of Le Mans history

SPORTING ARENA

Antarès is an indoor sporting arena located in Le Mans, France. The seating capacity of the arena, which was inaugurated in 1995, is 6,003 people when configured for Basketball. It is currently home to the Le Mans Sarthe Basket professional basketball team.

FANS

The official fan club of Le Mans is called "Cats". Representatives of this movement support their team almost in all trips, and even they invented their own award for best basketball players.

EXCHANGE OF OPINIONS

Thomas Kelati:

– Tomorrow it will be a very tough game. Le Mans is a very athletic and good team. First game they will play at their home court but I think we are able to play well on the road. These are last two games to enter group stage of Euroleague and they are very important. I believe our team is ready. Two years ago, even being a player of Unicaja, I met with Le Man in a group stage of Euroleague. We won but it was very difficult. I’ll do all my best to help the team.

Sergio Scariolo:

– Le Mans is a very good aggressive team. So far they spent very confident games in first two Qualifying rounds of Euroleague. The have shown a good level of basketball. They played with great intensity at the court. I would like to underline that the Le Mans players are very athletic and well prepared physically. Now we are very far from the level I want my team to be. I do understand the very system: we have to raise our intensity overall. But still there is an obligation – to be qualified to Euroleague. As for our previous game with Budivelnik, in general I’m satisfied with the result, but still there are some problems and so a lot of work to be done. We are still on our way. Every our game rises mutual understanding within the team. Unfortunately, the necessity of playing in qualifying rounds didn’t give us opportunity to practice too much. We had to focus more on our opponents than to improve our actions. So the process of getting together will be slower.

VISITING CARD

Le Mans Sarthe Basket (Le Mans, France)

Achievements

League Positions:
1989-4(B), 1990-1(B), 1991-13(A), 1992-12, 1993-11, 1994-13, 1995-13, 1997-4, 1998-7, 1999-6, 2000-7, 2001-2, 2002-7, 2003-3, 2004-1, 2005-2, 2006-5, 2007-6, 2008-1, 2009-3, 2010-2
------------------------------------------------------------------- — League Achievements:
French ProA Champion — 1978, 1979, 1982, 2006
French Cup Winner — 1964, 2004, 2009
French La Semaine des As Cup Winner — 2006, 2009
French ProA Regular Season Champion — 2004, 2008
French ProA Finalist — 2010
French ProA Regular Season Runner-Up — 2005, 2010
French La Semaine des As Cup Finalist — 2007
French ProA Semifinals — 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009
French Cup Semifinals — 2003
------------------------------------------------------------------- — European cups:
1999-2000: Korac Cup
2000-2001: Korac Cup: took 4th place (2-4) in Group H
2001-2002: withdraw from Qualification phase of Euroleague due to security reasons (their opponent was Hapoel Jerusalem), then joined Saporta Cup: took 5th place (4-6) in Group B
2003-2004: ULEB Cup: took 3rd place (5-5) in Group E
2005-2006: ULEB Cup: took 4th place (5-5) in Group D
2006-2007: Euroleague: took 7th place (4-10) in Group A
2007-2008: Euroleague: took 8th place (2-12) in Group B
2008-2009: Euroleague: took 6th place (2-8) in Group A
2009-2010: Euroleague: lost to ALBA (GER) in Qualifying Round; Eurocup: took 2nd place (3-3) in Group B of Regular Season, took 4th place (2-4) in Group I of Last 16

Team roster

№	Player	Position	Height
4	Ryvon Covile	Center	2.06
5	Charles Kahudi	Forward	1.99
6	Antoine Diot	Guard	1.93
7	Alain Koffi	Forward	2.07
9	Alex Acker	Guard	1.96
10	Benjamin Dewar	Forward	1.96
11	Marc-Antoine Pellin	Guard	1.70
12	Thierry Rupert	Forward	2.02
13	Joao Paulo Batista	Center	2.06
15	Henri Kahidu	Guard	1.93
17	Babacar Niang	Forward	2.08
18	Pierre-Etienne Drouault	Guard	1.94

Head coach: John David Jackson