Orleans Loiret Basket faces an exciting 2012-13 season in which he will make his Eurocup debut. Orleans had a chance to reach the competition in 2010-11 but could not survive the Qualifying Round against Azovmash. Last season, Orleans ranked third at the end of the French League regular season with a solid 21-9 record and reached Game 3 of the best-of-three semifinal series, but lost against Elan Chalon by just two points, 83-81. This will be Orleans' third season in European club competitions. Founded in 1993 as the merger of teams from three cities - Orleans, Fleury-les-Aubrais and Saint-Jean-de-Braye - the new club quickly promored from third to second division in France. It settled there for more than a decade until finally winning promotion to the French League in 2006. Once at the top level, however, Orleans showed quickly that it means business. It qualified for the Semaine des As cup tournament for the league's top eight teams in its very first season. The club used that fine start as a basis to solidify its place in the French League, only missing that first season's playoffs in a tie-breaker and then staying in the middle of the pack for 2007-08. Last season, Orleans made its great leap forward. It started with a confidence-building run to the final game of the Semaine des As tournament, where Orleans fell short against Euroleague power Le Mans. The team continued working, however, to finish in second place in the regular season for its first-ever French League playoff appearance. A two-game quarterfinals sweep showed that Orleans was for real. In the semis, with huge crowds at its back, Orleans found a way to avenge its cup loss to Le Mans with a crucial, do-or-die third-game victory in their series. The heroes were Brian Greene and Adrien Moerman, while legendary veteran Laurent Sciarra stepped up when needed. Orleans lost against Asvel in the title game but earned the right to play the 2009-10 Euroleague Qualifying Rounds. Against all odds, Orleans downed Spirou Basket and Benetton Treviso to make it to the Euroleague regular season. Orleans could not get to the Top 16 but bounced back behind Justin Doellman and Cedrick Banks to make it to the Semaine Des As final and, above all, win the 2010 French Cup title - its first and only title at the elite level. In 2010-11, the club changed its name to Orleans Loiret Basket, competed in the EuroChallenge but missed the French League playoffs. A return-to-form season has allowed Orleans to clinch a Eurocup spot. Expect Orleans to make some noise in the competition.