Despite declining an invitation to compete in the Euroleague and facing elimination in the playoff quarterfinals by Monaco, the JL Bourg team remains driven by ambition. Club president Julien Desbottes shared his perspective on these decisions and the club’s future aspirations with Le Progrès.
Desbottes acknowledged the significant economic challenges that would have accompanied a Euroleague campaign. “We would have had to fight against an extremely difficult economic climate to practically double our budget and play in the Euroleague. Why not? We have assets that could have generated liquidity, thanks to our diversification strategy.” However, he expressed concerns about losing sight of the club’s core identity. “But I’m afraid we would get lost. I’m afraid we would forget our reason for being. JL is not a toy. It’s not my toy. My fear, if we had decided to play Euroleague, is playing 80 games. It’s burning out our teams at all levels of the club. I don’t want to pick up the pieces in a year,” he stated.
Looking ahead, Desbottes emphasized the team’s determination to excel in domestic competitions. “Next year, there will be a new redistribution of cards, as we don’t really know what will happen in Monaco, and we understand that ASVEL will invest a huge amount of money. Competition will be fierce. We need to become French champions in everything we can control. The court is another matter. But if, internally, we put quality into everything we organize, we have a chance to continue to overperform. And besides, last season Le Mans won the Leaders Cup. Two years ago, Dijon won the French Cup… We are ready to head back to Ikea to expand our trophy room (smiles).”
