Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez
| Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez | |||
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| Leagues | LNB Pro A | ||
| Founded | 1908 | ||
| History | Élan Béarnais Orthez (1931–1989) Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez (1989–2008) Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez (2008–present) |
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| Arena | Palais des Sports de Pau | ||
| Capacity | 7,707 | ||
| Location | Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France | ||
| Team colors | White and Green |
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| President | Maher Abid | ||
| Head coach | Claude Bergeaud | ||
| Championships |
9 French Championships 3 Tournoi des As Cup 3 French Cups 1 Semaine des As Cup 1 Korać Cup |
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| Website | elan-bearnais.fr | ||
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Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez is a French professional basketball club based in Pau. They are currently competing in the LNB Pro A, and play their home games at the Palais des Sports de Pau. They are one of the most successful clubs in French basketball history, as they have won nine French championships and had European successes as well.
The Élan Béarnais was founded in 1931 in the town of Orthez. Prior to that, the basketball club was just a section of the Orthez sports club, founded in 1908. It was not a "club" in the modern sense, but rather a sponsorship created by clerics to enable the local youth to play sports.
The club first reached the top level of French professional basketball in 1973. They were immediately relegated back to the second division, but returned to the top flight in 1976. The club then made their European debut one year later, in 1977, by qualifying for the FIBA Korać Cup. Their ascent continued by winning the FIBA Korać Cup in 1984, defeating Crvena zvezda in the final in Paris (Palais des sports Pierre-de-Coubertin). This was the first of many pieces of silverware that would be added to the club's trophy cabinet over the next two decades.
More success followed as the Élan Béarnais were finally crowned champions of France for the first time, winning back-to-back titles in 1986 and 1987. This earned them entry into the FIBA European Champions' Cup (present-day Euroleague). Despite their status as newcomers, they were anything but intimidated, completing their maiden campaign of 1986-87 with a shock 3rd-place finish and a perfect record at home. It was a magical run, as they defeated European giants or traditional clubs of European basketball like Žalgiris, Maccabi Elite, Real Madrid, Zadar and that season's champions, Tracer Milano, on their home court, La Moutète. The Élan Béarnais would remain a fixture in European competition every season thereafter, until 2008, setting a European longevity record of 31 years in the process(1977–2008).
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