After making its international debut in the 7DAYS EuroCup last season, Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse is back looking to make some more noise. Bourg reached the EuroCup Top 16 last season and will look to be at peak physical and mental shape when the knock-out games arrive.
The club was founded in 1910 and the basketball section was opened in 1947. Bourg jumped to what is now the fifth division in 1963 and was promoted again in 1969. For many years, Bourg floated between the French fourth to sixth divisions. A big jump came in 1994 after winning the fourth division title. In just its second season in the third flight, Bourg captured the title and entered the world of professional basketball by reaching the second division in 1996 - thanks to the one-year stint of future French international and Olympic silver medallist Crawford Palmer.
Bourg reached the elite level in 2000 by winning the second division. It remained in the first division for seven seasons - and reached the French Leaders Cup final in 2006. Bourg dropped to the second division in 2007 and stayed there until 2014. It was a one-year stay though as the team went back down to the ProB. It did have success after the relegation, winning the French ProB Leaders Cup crown in 2016 and taking the French second league title in 2017. Bourg showed right away back in the first division that it was ready for bigger challenges, missing the playoffs by one game in 2018 and on a tiebreaker in 2019. Bourg also reached the 2019 French Leaders Cup final, losing to Strasbourg. In 2019-20, Bourg was on its way to finally reach the playoffs with a 16-9 record and fifth place in the standings when the COVID-19 pandemic caused the end of the season.
When basketball resumed, Bourg was ready to make history. Led by Danilo Andjusic, Pierre Pelos and Ante Tomic, Bourg advanced to the EuroCup Top 16 in its maiden go-around in the competition. A series of injuries and roster changes prevented Bourg from being more competitive in the second group stage. Andjusic finished as the competition's second-best scorer (17.4 ppg.). The team was fifth in the French League regular season with a 22-12 record, but reigning EuroCup champion Monaco claimed victory in their single-game quarterfinal. Heading into its EuroCup sophomore season, Bourg has learned some valuable lessons. Expect it to be even more competitive in the 2021-22 campaign.