Menton Basket Club launches its season with a new coach and the goal of returning to the top of the table

For two seasons, the Menton club has flirted with relegation. Two very difficult exercises that have put a strain on a group of players more accustomed to playing at the top of the table.

But in sport, especially basketball, everything moves very quickly and the MBC, known for its wisdom, even had to make a change of coach the previous season a few days before the end.

The very poor start of the first team penalized a group which finally saved itself two days before the end of the championship.

Behind the scenes, president Robert Zuttion has given way to Yacine Frouri, the club's new strongman, and above all, the first team is now led by a young coach from Beaulieu-sur-Mer: Billel Layouni.

A stable group

Injuries and suspensions had hampered the start of last year's season, and unfortunately for the MBC, the players were unable to find the momentum to reverse this poor start.

Despite a tense end to the season, the squad saw only three departures, offset by five arrivals. This form of stability will therefore normally allow the coach to work on the combinations more calmly while integrating the new players.

"My goal is to bring the group together and strengthen our cohesion. In the long term, we want to aim as high as possible in the standings, but in the very short term, all our energy is focused on our first challenge, namely winning at home on Saturday to get our championship off to a good start," hopes the new MBC coach.

A quality championship

Fourteen teams in the running, only one promotion... for four relegations. The NM3 championship is more frightening for the teams that make it up than dreaming with just one winner.

Of course, it is always difficult before the season to know who the big favorites will be, even if Grenoble, second last year, and Caluire-et-Cuire, who fell from N2, could be contenders for the Holy Grail.

In any case, this edition promises to be very open, with no easy encounters. The Menton residents know this.