Leaders Cup

Leaders Cup
Sport Basketball
Founded 2003
No. of teams 8
Country  France
Continent  Europe
Most recent champion(s) Monaco
(1st title)
Most titles Pau-Orthez
(4 titles)
TV partner(s) Sport+
Related competitions LNB Pro A
French Cup
Match des Champions
Official website LNB.fr (French)

The Leaders Cup is an annual cup competition for French professional basketball teams. Created in 2003, it is organized by the Ligue Nationale de Basketball (LNB), which also organizes the top two division French basketball leagues (Pro A, and Pro B).

Inspired by the Spanish Copa del Rey, the Final Eight format has always been used. At the end of the first half of the regular season, the top eight teams (or the top seven teams and the tournament's host team) from the first division French LNB Pro A League qualify. The eight teams play-off at one venue over four days, eventually producing a winner. The Final Eight is one of the highlights of the French basketball calendar. The winner of the competition is entitled to a spot to compete at the FIBA Europe EuroChallenge competition.

History

Tournoi des As (1988 – 1993)

The Tournoi des As (Tournament of Aces) is the ancestor competition of the current Semaine des As from 1988 to 1993. At the end of the season, the 4 top teams from the French League qualified. Over 2 days competition, the first of the regular season was opposed to the fourth and the second to the third through semi-finals games. The 2 losing teams of the first day would meet for the third place spot while the two semi-finals winner would compete for the title.

Semaine des As (2003 – 2012)

Interrupted for ten years, the cup is returning in 2003 and is largely inspired from the Spanish Copa del Rey format. The first edition was organised in Pau, France. The competition is traditionally organized in February and the top eight teams at the end of half-season play-off over four days. The competition has often been highly disputed, producing a different winner every year except in 2009, when Le Mans won its second title, after the 2006 edition.

Leaders Cup (2013 – present)

Gravelines beat Strasbourg, by a score of 77-69, in the first edition of the competition under the Leaders Cup name.

Results

Season Winner Score Runners-up Venue Location MVP
Tournoi des As
1988 Limoges 8885 Cholet
1989 Mulhouse 8280 Cholet
1990 Limoges 8784 Cholet
1991 Orthez 6865 Limoges
1992 Pau-Orthez 8375 Limoges
1993 Pau-Orthez 7158 Cholet
Semaine des As
2003 Pau-Orthez 10180 Le Havre Palais des Sports de Pau Pau
2004 Dijon 6260 Le Mans Palais des Sports de Mulhouse Mulhouse
2005 Nancy 11276 Gravelines Maison des Sports de C-F Clermont-Ferrand
2006 Le Mans 7860 JL Bourg-en-Bresse Palais des Sports de Dijon Dijon United States Eric Campbell
2007 Roanne 8782 Le Mans Palais des Sports Jean Weille Nancy United States Marc Salyers
2008 Cholet 6740 Vichy Palais des Sports de Toulon Toulon France Nando de Colo
2009 Le Mans 7464 Orléans Salle des Docks Océane Le Havre Israel David Bluthenthal
2010 ASVEL 7069 Orléans Astroballe Villeurbanne Lithuania Mindaugas Lukauskis
2011 Gravelines 7971 Chalon-sur-Saône Palais des Sports de Pau Pau France Yannick Bokolo
2012 Élan Chalon 7366 Gravelines Halle André-Vacheresse Roanne United States Blake Schilb
Leaders Cup
2013 Gravelines 7769 Strasbourg Disneyland Paris Paris France Ludovic Vaty
2014 Le Mans 7464 Nanterre Disneyland Paris Paris Brazil João Paulo Batista
2015 Strasbourg 60–58 Le Mans Disneyland Paris Paris France Antoine Diot
2016 Monaco 99–74 Élan Chalon Disneyland Paris Paris United States Jamal Shuler

Titles by team

Team Winners Runners-up Winning Years
Pau-Orthez 4 0 1991, 1992, 1993, 2003
Le Mans 3 3 2006, 2009, 2014
Limoges 2 2 1988, 1990
Gravelines 2 2 2011, 2013
Cholet 1 4 2008
Élan Chalon 1 2 2012
Strasbourg 1 1 2015
Mulhouse 1 0 1989
Dijon 1 0 2004
Nancy 1 0 2005
Roanne 1 0 2007
ASVEL 1 0 2010
Monaco 1 0 2016
Orléans 0 2
Le Havre 0 1
JL Bourg-en-Bresse 0 1
Vichy 0 1
Nanterre 0 1

See also

External links

References

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