Yves Pons: From Haiti to Girona – A Journey of Basketball and Photography

Jordi Roura 21/09/2023 at 13:17 CEST

Eight signings have arrived at Bàsquet Girona this summer, all with their virtues and specificities, but surely none with a life as full and loaded with emotions as that of Yves Pons. The new power forward of the Salva Camps team was born in Haiti 24 years ago, when he was four he went to live in France in an adoptive family that introduced him to a thousand sporting and cultural activities, and he still had time to make the jump to the United States to study and play in Tennessee, and make his debut even in a testimonial way in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies when he played with the Memphis Hustle of the G-League. Pons, who has already begun to show a marvelous physique and an insulting ease in jumping, rebounding and putting down dunks and blocks, arrives in Girona from ASVEL ready to grow in the ACB and help the team “to finish in the top eight.”

Yves Pons is notable for his physique and his game, but also for this life that has turned him into a restless man. “I never stay at home watching TV,” he confessed in an interview prior to his arrival in Girona. And the power forward has hobbies for all tastes. The oldest, photography, which he discovered when he was only ten years old with some friends and which today has turned him into a portrait specialist who even makes a business selling them. A look at his Yves Pons Photographer instagram allows you to get an idea of ​​the quality of his work. “Yesterday I was taking photos in Girona,” he confessed from the Palau pavilion, at the end of training.

JUDO, BAILE, SAXO…

«I grew up doing many activities, as you say. I did judo, I have played the sax, I have done different types of dances (her mother was a jazz dancer) and I love to cook! But my passion is undoubtedly photography. I especially love photographing portraits. In fact, it has also become a business for me: I have clients and I sell my photographs. “It’s a great passion,” says the new Bàsquet Girona player. The fact of being born in Haiti and, at a very young age, having been adopted in France, also marked him: «he marks me a lot, yes. I consider that I have a resilient personality. “Everyone who has surrounded me and who has passed me by over the years has helped shape me both the person and the player that I am today.” And at this moment, what he wants most is to take advantage of the opportunity that Fontajau has given him. «I have come here to gain experience and be a better player, to enjoy more minutes and more responsibility. I hope that Girona wins many games and increases its presence in the ACB league,” he details.

Pons grew up in Fuveau, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. At the age of 13, after showing significant potential as a basketball player, he went to Paris to enter the INSEP Academy, the same one where, for example, Tony Parker had trained. There it was definitely clear to him that he had enough potential to be a professional in this sport. He assures that beyond blocks and dunks he can contribute many other things to the team: “defense is one of my strong points, both inside and outside the perimeter, and I also have a good shot, I have been improving it over the years.” shot and improved their performance in basketball, while also becoming more and more precise with the shutter release of their camera. The photos he is most proud of are some from his time in Tennessee. “Ever since I was little I had a good camera and he took incredible photos,” he emphasizes.

FROM ASVEL TO GIRONA

Last season he averaged 3.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists with ASVEL in the more than 14 minutes he played per game. He now has the opportunity to continue growing Girona. He knew the club and the ACB: “I know that they rose two seasons ago and that last year was their debut in the league, and that they want to continue looking up.” He doesn’t settle for anything: “we can finish in the top eight.” It would be an ideal photo.

2023-09-21 11:17:16
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