Just a few weeks before their soccer counterparts, it was the champions of the small round ball who were in the final of a Cup, the French Cup, facing the prestigious club of Ambert Pétanque. At the end, a third consecutive title for Philippe Quintais and his teammates.
From the final clash between the DUC of Nice and the Elite Pétanque Club of Ambert, we expected wonders along with a finely crafted suspense. Henri Lacroix (13/4 against Jean-Michel Xisto) and Philippe Suchaud (13/9 against Alain Charlet) were the first to strike for the people of Nice, but the people of Auvergne caught up thanks to Pascal Miléi (13/10 against Patrick Emile) and Angélique Papon (13/7 against Séverine Roche).
Khaled Lakhal reasserted Nice’s advantage (13/5 against Zvonko Radnic), before Philippe Quintais won the top duel against Marco Foyot (13/12), after an intense showdown.
Feeling the triumph within reach, Nice then dominated the mixed doubles thanks to Séverine Roche and Philippe Suchaud, who beat Angélique Papon and Pascal Miléi 13/6, before securing three more points with Philippe Quintais and Henri Lacroix (against Jean-Michel Xisto and Alain Charlet 13/3).
Fortunately for Ambert, Zvonko Radnic and Marco Foyot remained vigilant, and especially saved the day, with a hard-fought victory after 2 hours and 15 minutes of play, 13/8 against Patrick Emile and Khaled Lakhal.
With two victories needed for Ambert and one for Nice in pursuit of the grail, the challenge was now clear for everyone.
With the score at 8/3 thanks to Radnic, Xisto, and Miléi, Ambert felt its star shine. Alas… The Auvergnats wouldn’t move from the score again, taken to their knees by a failed attempt and successful cancellation of the jack by Xisto, but said jack was stopped by a ball from… Pascal Miléi. Facing indestructible Nice players, Ambert still believed until the end in its star.
With an undeniable score of 19 to 7, Nice clinched a third consecutive French Cup, proving once again, if needed, the great qualities of a group of women and men proudly bearing the colors of Nice on every playing field.
### Results
Semi-finals: Nice beats Le Relecq Kérhuon 17/4 (four victories in singles, and three in doubles).
Ambert beats Paris UB 15e 19/12 (three victories in singles, one in doubles, two in triples).
Final: Nice beats Ambert 19/7 (four victories in singles, two in doubles, and one in triples).
