French basketball continues to develop and evolve, much to the delight of its fans. BANANA CUT, the French U15 League, is one of a growing number of new tournaments whose mission is to showcase young basketball talent in a setting and atmosphere worthy of an official competition. And it is doing so in direct collaboration with the best U15 clubs in the Paris region – the Spartiates de Cergy-Pontoise, Saint Charles Basket, CTC Centre Essonne, MLV Basket, Villemomble Sport Basket and Nanterre 92!
Mody NIAKATÉ, founder of the LE NIAK agency, and Mustafa CISSÉ, founder of the Off Court podcast, organised Arc 01 this summer at the Gymnase Didot, in partnership with adidas, JD Sports and Wings & Chill. In the run-up to the tournament, each team had the opportunity to design its own jersey at a creative workshop led by designer and scenographer Assunta Louis-Diop. The workshop was all about strengthening team spirit through an introductory exercise in design and creativity.
BANANA CUT shirt design workshop, led by designer and scenographer Assunta Louis-Diop – Photo credit: @__.fatfat on Instagram
Once the jersey designs had been finalised, it was time for the show, with a day full of highlights in terms of both performance and lifestyle. On the sporting front, the six teams had their time to shine and show off their skills in front of an enthusiastic inter-generational crowd. From all-out dunks, efficient crossovers, well-organised plays, and winning baskets, it was all about getting noticed and, above all, getting closer to the final. The highlight of the day was an unexpected buzzer beater by Saint Charles Basket, following a missed basket by MLV, which gave the Charenton-le-Pont-based club the win and sent the fans storming out onto the pitch! It was a thrilling end to a match we won’t forget any time soon.
Live from BANANA CUT ‘s Arc 01 at Gymnase Didot, Paris 14 – Photo credit: @celiographie on Instagram
Off the pitch, the crowds, staff and players made many trips to the Wings & Chill stand to sample “the best wings in Paris (France)” and enjoy the good weather. Just before the final, the crowd was treated to live performances by Gambino La MG and Negrito, both wearing fresh adidas gear, which was the perfect warm-up for the final match of the day. Despite the tiredness and the summer heat, the tournament ended on a high with a tight final between Saint Charles Basket and Nanterre 92, with the Hauts de Seine club coming out on top!
Nanterre 92 U15 team, winner of BANANA CUT ‘s Arc 01 – Photo credit: @__.fatfat on Instagram
Now it’s time for my interview with Mody NIAKATÉ and Mustafa CISSÉ, the two organisers of BANANA CUT.
Herbby: How did the BANANA CUT project come about?
BANANA CUT: We’d had this project in mind for years and we really started working on it during the lockdown. Every time we talked about basketball, we wondered why there weren’t any events for the U15s given that they’re so strong, and why there weren’t any tournaments directly linked to the clubs either. That’s how BANANA CUT was born.
Live from BANANA CUT ‘s Arc 01 at Gymnase Didot, Paris 14 – Photo credit: @celiographie on Instagram
We really want to promote and highlight U15s through a sporting and cultural event with great people, the music and artists they listen to, and the food they like. There are also incredible stories to be told about the players and their coaches. For example, Julien from CTC Essonne coached the French U18 team that beat LeBron James’ son’s team in August 2022 in Nanterre, or Mathias from MLV who is a real point of reference in the business and a walking basketball encyclopaedia.
The great thing about this project is that we identified a simple problem and came up with a solution to it.
Performances by Negrito and Gambino before BANANA CUT‘s Arc 01 final – Photo credit: @celiographie on Instagram
H: Where does the event’s name come from?
BC: At the very beginning, we agreed that the name shouldn’t include the words ‘ball’, ‘bball’, ‘games’, or ‘summer league’. We really wanted to find a name that went beyond basketball, that we could market to all types of entities and audiences. When we were doing some online research, we drew from TrashTalk’s ‘TrashTalker’s Lexicon’ and came across ‘Banana Cut’. It’s the name of a technical system in basketball, used “to move quickly from one wing to another, from one corner to another following a curved run”. And that’s when we realised that the system totally reflects the preferred playing patterns of young people. We also decided that it should be a sudden death type of tournament: you lose, you’re out. So, when you lose your match, you lose your banana! (laughs)
Live from BANANA CUT ‘s Arc 01 at Gymnase Didot, Paris 14 – Photo credit: @celiographie on Instagram
H: How would you sum up Arc 01?
BC: The results have been very positive, though we have still identified some areas for improvement internally. First of all, the basketball has been at a high level, and that’s what we’re most proud of! Lots of the participants told us that they didn’t know the level was so high at U15 level. Secondly, many parents have sent us messages to thank us, and that’s a real win. They’ve come out to support their children, had a great time and seen that this was so much more than just a basketball tournament. Before the event, we went to each club to design the shirts, so we spent several weeks with the players. The atmosphere was really good and I’m sure they’ll keep their shirts and all the memories for life! They took ownership of the event from start to finish and that’s our main goal with BANANA CUT.
Vibe at BANANA CUT ‘s Arc 01 at Gymnase Didot, Paris 14 – Photo credit: @celiographie on Instagram
Another positive, and one that’s very important one for us, is the fact that we worked mainly with dynamic young people who have something new to bring to the game. We had Virginie, who handled all the production, then Assunta Louis-Diop, who ran the shirt design workshop, the creative agency BN Agency from the media company Banlieusard Nouveau, who made all our promotional videos, and Fatima, who managed the photos… Their enthusiasm was palpable throughout the event.
Focus at BANANA CUT ‘s Arc 01 at Gymnase Didot, Paris 14 – Photo credit: @celiographie on Instagram
H: What’s your vision for BANANA CUT ?
BC: The idea is to grow and add more teams, especially from other regions, because our event doesn’t belong solely to Paris. In fact, we’re already getting messages from players based outside the Paris region, so we’re preparing for the next stage of expansion. We also plan to add women’s teams. Our major ambition is to hold a BANANA CUT tournament at the adidas arena and establish ourselves as a real institutional event dedicated to basketball, urban culture and everything that goes with it!
Live from BANANA CUT ‘s Arc 01 at Gymnase Didot, Paris 14 – Photo credit: @celiographie on Instagram
