Anadolu Efes destroyed by the Spanish teenagers of Valencia
I am sure nobody gave Valencia Basket a chance yesterday in their home game against Anadolu Efes. The reigning champions of the Euroleague came with a complete roster, including the last signing Chris Singleton. Efes had 10 foreigners with experience in the European competition, while Valencia Basket had 7 injured players, so they had to include in the roster some young Spanish guys.
Valencia resisted the first half and it seemed like Efes would storm past them in the second part of the game. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Anadolu Efes already took the lead and everybody expected an easy win for the Turkish side. But, surprise! Valencia Basket, having in the roster 2 teenagers 17 years old and other 4 Spanish young players with ages between 21-25 years old, smashed Efes in the last stanza.
The reigning champions were pathetic in offense, where the guru Engin Ataman could find any solution. The last quarter was dominated by the Spaniards, who made a strong defense that allow only 6 points for Efes in the first 8 minutes of the 4th quarter!!!
This game is proving once again that true basketball consists of collective effort, sharing the ball without selfishness and having trust in the young talented guys, in the home-grown players. Every European club should reconsider their philosophy and invest in and promote more of its local players instead of agglomerating its roster with too many crappy foreigners. The sustainability of European basketball depends on young local players.
The article was written by Gratian Cormos, a Romanian journalist, book writer, life coach and mentor currently living in Barcelona, Spain.
If you are interested in collaborating with his website brainbasketball.net, in order to publish articles, interviews or other features related to basketball, feel free to contact Gratian Cormos by Whatsapp or Telegram at this Spanish number: +34 612414486.
Photo credit: EuroLeague
