By Antonis Stroggylakis / astroggylakis@eurohoops.net
Jakarta, Indonesia – Sylvain Francisco capitalized on his superb season with Peristeri BC in the Basketball Champions League and Greece by leveling up as both club and national team player.
For starters, Francisco was called to join France in the 2023 World Cup and participate in his first major summer competition with Les Bleus after debuting in the Qualification Tournament.
It was something that Francisco pondered about and wanted but barely believed it could actually happen a couple of years ago.
“I didn’t really expect it,” Francisco told Eurohoops about being a French national team player in the World Cup. “There were a lot of things going on during my first professional year. So I really didn’t expect it to play with them [France]. For me, It was, ‘OK, I want to go to the NBA.’ Being on the national team was one of my goals but I didn’t realize that it would happen so fast… that I’d be on the national team so fast.”
Francisco immediately made the World Cup roster since the team didn’t have a preliminary squad. He feels honored to represent his country in the world stage and gratified that his grind bore such a fruit.
He’s now playing alongside players he was watching from television while growing up like Nicolas Batum and Nando De Colo.
“I feel really excited and really like blessed for what happened to me,” Francisco said on his World Cup participation. “I put on a lot of work. Worked really hard. I improved myself throughout the season. And this is something I wanted so much to be a part of. And I did it. Apart from the World Cup itself, I’m on a team around so many great players.”
“I’m really happy”.
Francisco grew up idolizing the French basketball GOAT and now officially Hall of Famer Tony Parker. Actually the 25-year-old guard confirmed that he was close to joining the Parker-owned ASVEL Villeurbanne this summer.
“Well, the players I like the most in general is Kobe Bryant,” Francisco said. “But my favorite player growing up was Tony Parker. It really was TP. I met him when I was four year old actually.”
“We talked a little bit because he’s from ASVEL in EuroLeague and stuff like that,” Francisco added. “And I was really close with ASVEL before I signed with Bayern Munich.”
The contract with Bayern Munich and the ticket to playing in EuroLeague was Francisco’s second major reward this summer. After being coached by Vassilis Spanoulis, a EuroLeague legend as player, he will now play under Pablo Laso.
Laso was appointed Bayern coach earlier this summer after a one-year hiatus following his departure from Real Madrid. He had led the Spanish powerhouse to the EuroLeague championships of 2015 and 2018, ending a 20-year drought on that level.
“It’s really good. For Peristeri, I was with Vassilis Spanoulis and that was big time,” Francisco said. “But now, I’m in EuroLeague, at the highest level in Europe. With Pablo Laso, to be part of this it’s great. I think he trusts me to be part of the team and now I just got to learn from him and be the best player I can.”
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Francisco revealed that Spanoulis is kind of a Pablo Laso fan.
“He [Spanoulis] likes Laso a lot!” Francisco said with emphasis. “He talked to me about Bayern. He told me that Pablo Laso is going to be for me the best coach I could have. That this is a really good choice for me because Laso will help me improve. He told me that I’m going to love it.”
Not only Spanoulis but others also praised Laso to Francisco. Like his France teammate Guerchon Yabusele, who played under the Spanish coach at Real Madrid in 2021-22.
“Everybody told me the same thing,” Francisco said. “Guerschon Yabusele told me he same thing. All the French players told me that about Laso. That having Laso as a coach is good for me, my game and everybody on the team.”
Having fullfilled two key career goals this summer, Francisco has shown that he can achieve anything he sets up his mind to. And the next desirable destination for him is the NBA.
“The NBA is still on my mind,” Francisco admitted. “Sometimes you simply just want to go there. You may stay one year, two years, three years. Even if you don’t stay that long you can go back to Europe.
“Maybe if you come back in Europe you’ll be the main guy. But in the end, it all depends on the situation you are in and what you want to do. But of course everybody wants to go to the NBA to see what’s going on. And if they don’t feel like it, if they don’t have a good role they can go back to Europe.
“For me? I’m open minded. Of course it’s still a dream to go to the NBA.”
Photo: FIBA Basketball