Leagues Pro B Team colors Blue and White Head coach Ruddy Nelhomme Date founded 2004 | History 2004 - Present President Alain Baudier | |
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Arena Saint Eloi (2,700 seats)Les Arênes (4,800 seats) | ||
Poitiers Basket 86 or PB86 is a French professional basketball team located in the city of Poitiers, capital of the Poitou-Charentes region, France. The club competes in the French Pro B league. The home game's are played at Salle de Saint-Eloi except for several matches played at Les Arênes. The players wear white and blue uniforms.
Contents
History
Poitiers Basket 86 was founded in 2004, following the merging of two teams : CEP Poitiers and Stade Poitevin. The club began its first season in Nationale 3 with Grégory Thiélin as head coach and ranked at a promising 5th place in the end of the season. The following year, the team is promoted to LNB Pro B. It is the first time a basketball club from Poitiers plays at a professional level. The 2006/2007 season is difficult for the team which finish 13th.
During the 2007/2008 season, Ruddy Nelhomme is named head coach. He keeps the following French players (Costentin, Devéhat, Gomez, Guillard, Maynier) and recruits two Americans from Brest (Younger and Gunn), the experimented Thomas Darnauzan and some young players from the under-20 team (Kanté, Florimont, Dienepo, Dalmat).
In salle Lawson Body, Poitiers begins its second season with the ambition of doing a great second professional season. In the end of the regular season, the team finishes third and gains access to the playoffs but eventually loses in final against Besançon.
In the 2008/2009 season, Poitiers qualifies for the playoffs once again, by finishing second during the regular season. The team won the Final against Limoges and was promoted to Pro A.
The first year in LNB Pro A is a success. The team won its first match away against Nancy. In the end of the regular season, Poitiers is the latest team to access the playoffs, eliminating ASVEL. For the first time ever, the defending champion didn't qualify for the playoffs. Unfortunately, the club is eliminated during the quarterfinals by Cholet, the season's champion. At the end of the match, Sylvain Maynier announces the end of his career. During the 2010/2011 season, Poitiers eventually stayed in Pro A following a victory against Hyères-Toulon in the last match of the season. The team finished at the 14th place with 12 wins and 18 defeats.
For the 2011/2012 season, JJ Miller joins the team.
Ruddy Nelhomme was elected best coach of Pro B during the 2008/2009 season and best coach of Pro A the following year. He was then named Assistant Coach for the French basketball team during the World Championship in Turkey and for the EuroBasket 2011, where France reached the final.
Poitiers Basket is known for its innovative communication, becoming the first sport club to create a TV show (Vis mon Match), broadcast on the website of the team. Several thousands of people watched the show which was then shown in a movie theater for two days. Poitiers fans have been elected the most fair-play of Pro A three times in a row.
Arenas
The club plays its domestic matches at Salle Saint-Eloi (2700 seats). However, some matches are held at Les Arênes and allows for a larger audience (4800 seats).
Head Coaches
Notable Players
To appear in this section a player must have either:- Set a club record or won an individual award as a professional player.
- Played at least one official international match for his senior national team or one NBA game at any time.