“You are missing the most important thing: the Coupe des Landes”, Boris Diaw returns to the courts in Biscarosse

Boris Diaw is competing in the Coupe des Landes with his club Biscarosse. MAXPPP – Alberto Gandolfo

One last challenge with a group of friends: in the small room of Biscarrosse, Boris Diaw, the former captain of the France team, put on his sneakers again to make "a dream&quot ; as a kid, "playing the Landes World Cup".

This amateur cup pits all the teams in the department against each other. Driven by historic village rivalries, it arouses a passion that is difficult to satisfy.

Formerly played in small covered arenas, stormed and quickly saturated with smoke, the men's and women's finals will be moved this year to the arenas of Mont-de-Marsan, temple of bullfight.

Boris Diaw va faire son retour sur les parquets avec le club de Biscarosse, au 3e échelon départemental. L'ancien capitaine des Bleus, champion d'Europe en 2013 et de NBA en 2014, se lance pour défi de remporter la Coupe des Landes https://t.co/mHtLIbHZgy pic.twitter.com/xGQcSDJhpz

— L'ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) September 1, 2023

They should bring together 8,000 people, twice as many spectators as the average French Professional League meeting.

"When we grow up here, that's all we talk about. I always wanted to play it but my career took another path,” Boris Diaw, 41, tells AFP, his voice covered by the sound of the bandas, after his first match in competition.

"The only opportunity was now, in retirement, coming back with a group of friends", explains the ex-NBA champion, surrounded by& ;#39;teammates met during the sports study years at Mont-de-Marsan.

Boris Diaw in the French team jersey. MAXPPP – LAURENT LAIRYS

Cédric Beesley, lifelong friend and former professional trained with Diaw in Pau-Orthez, remembers matches fought in the past with the Espoirs against the local teams: "Boris tasted the' atmosphere but without playing because he was already a pro… that frustrated him a lot."

A round of 16 against Real

In 2014, when Diaw was crowned in the NBA, Frédéric Fauthoux, seven-time French champion with Pau – including twice with Diaw – and winner of the Landes trophy, says he rubbed salt in the wound.

"You're missing the most important thing: the Coupe des Landes", the local legend, now a professional coach, said.

Some tours "at the Bayonne festivals" between childhood friends, Diaw in the lead, at the end of each other's careers they did the rest.

Boris Diaw va sortir de sa retraite pour jouer en… Départementale 3, dans les Landes ! https://t.co/25zkPbRr6P

— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) September 1, 2023

This summer, the members of the gang who live scattered between Bordeaux, Arcachon and the Landes, are resuming their license in Biscarrosse, registered in the depths of the amateur divisions.

This team, initially with limited numbers and close to the withdrawal, now plays with stands filled with "people", including astronaut Thomas Pesquet during the first round in November, or kids collecting autographs and selfies.

But the jubilee spirit stops there. Because on Saturday in the round of 16, the team faces the defending champion, Real Chalossais, resident of Nationale 3 (5th national level).

Boris Diaw in the Metropolitans jersey. MAXPPP – FREDERIQUE GRANDO

"Immense respect for his extraordinary career… but we are going there to beat him, not to take photos of Boris and his friends", warns Benoît Ducasse, the Chalois president.

His club, like many others in the department, is a group of several villages totaling barely 2,000 inhabitants, supported by an army of passionate volunteers, who organize festive meals after matches to finance it.

Semi-professional or amateur with "travel allowance" to attract the best players who “all work alongside”, these associative structures bet part of their season on this competition.