Joventut Badalona is back in the European elite
Joventut Badalona is back in the European elite
After a 10-years break, Joventut Badalona is back in a European competition. They will play in EuroCup, a competition they won in the 2007-2008 season. They were a powerful team last decade and now they aim to regain their reputation as one of the best basketball teams in Europe.
In order to achieve that, Joventut acquired some new players, to strengthen their roster and compete at the highest level against big teams. The first player arrived was Alen Omic (27 years-old, 2.16m, C), former Olimpia Milano. He played for Buducnost and Milano last season in Euroleague. He has big experience in the competition, also playing before for Unicaja Malaga and Gran Canaria in the 2015-2016 season, when he was chosen in All EuroCup First Team. The next player added to the squad was another player with huge experience, the playmaker Nikos Zizis (35 years-old, 1.97, PG) He played for Brose Bamberg last season and averaged 7.1 points and 4.2 assists in 36 German League games. He ranks third in appearances and 10th in assists in Euroleague history. He had won trophies in Greece, Russia, Germany and Turkey.
They added a scoring threat in Klemen Prepelic on loan from Real Madrid. He played in Euroleague last season, but he also has 4 EuroCup seasons under his belt. He played for Levallois, Banvit Bandirma, Olimpija Ljubljana and Oldenburg. Last season he averaged 3.8 points in Euroleague for Real Madrid but his minutes were limited. And the last player brought was NBA`S Enes Kanter little brother, Kerem Kanter (24 years-old, 2.06m, F). He played in Lithuanian league last season for Dzukija where he was the first in scoring with 16.8 points per game and second in rebounds, 7.3.
Alongside those additions, they extended the contracts of Luke Harangody and Simon Birgander. They lost last season Spanish League MVP, Nicolas Laprovittola, who left for Real Madrid, Marcos Delia, Quincy Miller-Scott and Jose Nogues.
Those changes make Joventut`s fans hope for some good results in their team`s return in a European competition. They added very experienced players, with many games in EuroCup or Euroleague and alongside their core of players, it won`t be soo hard to achieve some good results and reach the upper stages of EuroCup or Spanish League.
Photo credit: championsleague.basketball
Bogdan Vasile Tirc