Hyères/Toulon, Fos-sur-Mer, Denain, Roanne. For the first time, Clément Cavallo will face all his former clubs in the same season. But the Var team will always have a special place for the Boulazacois captain, born in Menton, but trained in Toulon.

What memories do you have of your years in Hyères/Toulon?

There are many. I did my training there, my Espoirs years, my first minutes in Pro A. I was lucky to have had an Espoirs coach, Éric Lecerf, who helped me a lot in my progress. A professional staff led by Alain Weisz. There were players who helped me a lot like Vincent Masingue, Moustapha Sonko, Kyle Milling, Laurent Legname and I forget… I could name them all. It was a chance for me to be with these players at this period of my life and my learning.

And there is the title of French Pro B champion in 2016, your last season there.

It was a nice surprise for everyone because we had the 14th or 16th budget and we became champion with four days to go. It was an incredible year, and it was the club’s first title. Winning it with my training club was strong.

Seeing the club at this level again, after being demoted to Nationale 3 in 2018 for financial reasons (the sporting rights were sold to Paris Basket), must make you happy.

I’m happy to see the club back in this division. When he went down to Nationale 3, it was quite distant, even if there was an interesting project. We must congratulate the club, the team which had a very good season last season with the return of Jean-Louis Borg to coaching.

This one is a strong character in French basketball. What does it represent?

He coached my father, it shows the longevity of the character. He marked the LNB at HTV, in Vichy [NDLR : 2005-2010]in Dijon [2010-2023, coach puis manager]. He initiated a certain style of play that many coaches copied. He did great things with low-budget teams thanks to a state of mind, team cohesion. He came back to lend a hand to one of his favorite clubs.

Personally, how are you approaching this meeting?

First, we must react to the defeat in Caen [87-83 ap]. After the match, I will enjoy my father and my brother, who will come to see it, and people I haven’t seen for a long time at the club. I’m happy to come back to the sports hall but it’s a match that I want to win, like the others. It’s the day before my birthday but I can’t stay, we continue with the trip to Aix. We’ll see during the international break.