MVP Diot in the clouds

PARIS (FIBA Basketball World Cup/EuroBasket 2015) - Antoine Diot has been through some hard times in his basketball life because of injuries.

They threatened to derail his career just as it was beginning to be take off after EuroBasket 2009 in Poland, preventing him from representing France for three full years.

For the past couple of seasons, though, Diot has had a lot more good days than bad, be it with Les Bleus or his club, Strasbourg.

For the most part, he's been healthy.

That was true at EuroBasket 2013 in Slovenia, where Diot was a solid contributor for Vincent Collet's side as it won the continental title for the first time.

Remember when he drilled the long, buzzer-beating three-pointer before half-time in the Final against Lithuania? 

Diot again played an important role coming off the bench at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

He helped France surprised the experts with a third-place finish.

Now the 26-year-old has proved his fitness, and also shown plenty of leadership and spirit, by leading Strasbourg to the first major honor that was up for grabs in France, the Leaders Cup Trophy.

"He's the first one to have gathered his team and pretty much say 'follow my lead and you'll see, we'll get to the final," said Collet, who is also his coach at Strasburg. "You need the capacities to do it."

In the first couple of rounds over the weekend, point guard Diot and Le Mans forward Charles Kahudi, another France international, played so well that they were being called the two best players in the tournament.

Kahudi had been the MVP in his team's victories after scoring 15 points and corralling six rebounds in each success.

Le Mans won their first game, a triple overtime thriller against Nanterre, and then they claimed a 64-62 victory over SLUC Nancy.

By Sunday night, after Strasbourg had ended the title defense of Le Mans with a 60-58 triumph at the Disney Events Center just outside of Paris, there was no doubt.

Diot, who had 22 points, nine assists and seven boards in the Semi-Final success against Dijon, averaged 13.3 points 4.3 rebounds, 6.7 assists in the team's three wins.

He was named the MVP of the tournament.

He stressed the importance of Strasbourg's unselfish play.

"We really have a team game and tonight [against Le Mans], I wasn't the one making the tough shots," he said.

There's this individual accolade which is always enjoyable [to have] but it does take a backseat because this was a team win - Antoine Diot

Diot made sure to go on the social media and say thanks to some special people in his life.

The guard will be looking to continue his excellent form and help Strasbourg make a run at the French title.

He will then turn his attention to France and play in what should be another memorable event for Les Bleus, EuroBasket 2015.

The French will host Group A in Montpellier and then the knockout round.

FIBA