It's official, Hyères-Toulon secures its place in Pro B

One man's misfortune is another man's gain. In this case, the Hyères-Toulon region.

A month and fifteen days after their French NM1 championship title, they officially confirmed their promotion to Pro B this Saturday evening. Their defeat on Friday against Gries-Souffelweyersheim (87-93) had no consequences, as Chartres logically lost to Blois on Saturday (99-76).

Now, whatever happens, with two days left in the championship, HTV ( ^17th ) can no longer be caught by either Fos-sur-Mer or Chartres.

The outpouring of joy didn't quite have the same flavor as last spring, when the Palais des Sports floor was invaded. But the Var residents, who watched Chartres' defeat from their sofas, couldn't hide their relief.

Dumas: "The merit of an entire club!"

"We're not going to celebrate an opponent's defeat. But we're happy, even if I've been confident for a few matches," coach Stéphane Dumas finally savored by phone. "It's rewarding for a first year in Pro B, a very demanding division, and with all the problems we've had. It's the credit of an entire club, which was still in N2 not long ago, and of an entire team. I'm thinking of the management and Jean-Louis Borg."

In any case, this is the happy ending to a season that has been anything but rosy, marked by five initial defeats. It is now early October, the start of what is, for the newly promoted team, a path of suffering.

But Little Thumb left a few pebbles, crumbs, and stones to cling to. He snatched several unexpected away victories (Pau, Gries), while also picking up what he needed at home.

The inconsistent results proved fatal for Jean-Louis Borg, the promotion coach, who was dismissed in March. Since then, Stéphane Dumas has delivered the essentials: two wins against Blois and Aix-Maurienne and some rather impressive performances.

Enough to build, already, a part of the future. What will the future team look like? It's far too early to know. For now, four players are still under contract: Mathis Keita, Maxim Eugene, Nikola Knezevic, and Quentin Losser.

As for the coach? "We have to enjoy it, we'll get to work tomorrow (Sunday). I signed until the end of June, but I hope to continue here, I didn't come for just two months," says Stéphane Dumas. "But first, we have one last home game left, next Friday against Évreux (8:30 p.m.), and it's very important to finish well at home."