Montreal’s basketball community is tight-knit and the Quebecers who have made it to the NBA haven’t forgotten where they came from.
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Les Luguentz Dort, Chris Boucher and Bennedict Mathurin also encouraged the Montreal Alliance this summer.
“We have not contacted them,” assures the president of the Canadian Elite Basketball League team, Annie Larouche. The boys call us on match day to see if there is still space available.
“It also happened that Luguentz secretly trained on our pitch [à l’Auditorium de Verdun]because he was looking for a platform at a professional level,” she tells the Journal.
Quebecer Luguentz Dort and his Oklahoma City Thunder gang visit the Bell Center. Photo Mylene Richard
“Countries that lack love”
Speaking of courts, this is a problem that needs to be solved in order for metropolitan Quebec to become a real basketball destination.
“There is a glaring lack of platforms. There are more and more young people interested in this sport, but we have to reach out to schools. Everyone is fighting to have access to it,” denounces Ms. Larouche.
The Alliance will do its part to the best of its ability by replacing the nets on certain baskets throughout the city.
“There are areas where there is a lack of a lot of love. “Some don’t even have a net, others have chains or everything is crooked or there’s no lighting,” the former Alouettes employee has complained for 25 years.
Not in competition
While Ms. Larouche waits for this situation to improve, she is excited about the arrival of the NBA, which brings with it “great influence for the sport” and “great visibility.”
Obviously, the caliber of the Canadian league is not comparable to that of the NBA. And if it comes to fruition in Montreal one day – according to La Presse, the project was at a standstill in the spring – Ms Larouche wouldn’t worry.
“We are talking about two completely different markets. We have a family clientele with tickets for $20,” she explains.
Five Quebecers
“We just finished our second season and are following this wave of NBA games returning,” she analyzes. “There is real enthusiasm for basketball in Montreal: there are five Montrealers playing in the NBA, the Alliance has arrived, Montreal has passed a resolution declaring it a basketball city,” emphasizes Ms. Larouche, adding that the NBA won It’s a bet because the community here has participated, even if the Toronto Raptors aren’t there.
Last year, Boucher and Khem Birch (now with the San Antonio Spurs) played a preseason game at the Bell Center with the Raptors. On Thursday evening it will be the turn of Dort and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Next time it could be Mathurin and his Indiana Pacers or rookie Olivier-Maxence Prosper of the Dallas Mavericks.