Copa del Rey, Friday games: who will advance to the semifinals?
Yesterday, Unicaja Malaga complete the miracle, eliminating Barca, while Valencia Basket lost by only 1 point to Real Madrid helped by the referees. Without some bad decisions against them, Valencia probably would have eliminated Los Blancos. But the refs whistled some imaginary fouls and also in these circumstances Valencia had the last attack and the chance to seal the win.
The first day of the Spanish Cup showed us that the level is very balanced and we expect the same thing today.
Lenovo Tenerife will meet their neighbours Gran Canaria. Each team has only one missing player, Joan Sastre for Tenerife and Oliver Stevic for Gran Canaria, but this won’t affect so much their game. A true derby between one of the best teams in Europe: Gran Canaria is the main favourite to win the Eurocup, while Tenerife is the reigning champion of the BCL. Each team can win this encounter, everything will depend on the inspiration and discipline of the players.
The second game will bring face-to-face Joventut Badalona, the hosts of the tournament and the Euroleague powerhouse, Cazoo Baskonia. Even if for many basketball specialists this quarterfinal looks like the most unbalanced, I think that Joventut has a great chance to resist and with a bit of luck and concentration steal the win. Their main advantage is playing at home, in front of crowds of fans who will push them to reach glory. Anyways, Baskonia is still the main favourite to advance, if we take into consideration the rosters.
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: El Diario
