Joventut Badalona is having again a great season
One of only two teams that have never been relegated from the top division of the Spanish League, Joventut Badalona has had a remarkable season with some results far above their budget, one not very close to the Top 5 in Spain. They made the Palau Municipal d’Esports de Badalona a fortress, the 12760-seat arena was inaugurated in 1992 in a match in which Catalonia was defeated by Croatia led by 2 legends, Toni Kukoc and Drazen Petrovic.
La Penya had a very good European journey, finishing in second place in Eurocup Group A with only one defeat in the 9 matches played at home. In the round of 16 they eliminated London Lions 89-78, in the quarterfinals they passed Hapoel Tel Aviv 82-74 and then lost in the semifinals against the future champion, Gran Canaria 89-86. This was the revenge of Gran Canaria after Joventut had eliminated them in the quarterfinals of the Spanish Cup, 89-73, but then they lost in the next phase at the limit 73-72 against Tenerife. In the Endesa League, they did not have a spectacular season in the first part, finishing in 7th place with 19 victories in 34 rounds, losing 4 times at home in the 17 matches played. Because of this ranking in the quarterfinals, they came across one of the Euroleague teams, second place Baskonia. In the first game, Joventut had an exceptional offensive game from the 3-point line (15-27) and they won 99-91 on the road with a phenomenal Kyle Guy: 36 points and 4 rebounds. In the second match played at home, the same Guy was the main offensive weapon, helped by Vives and Brodziansky and they managed to eliminate Baskonia for a semifinal with rivals from Real Madrid.
Carles Duran has built a team of players with an enormous experience like Pau Ribas and Ante Tomic, along with players who are in the best period of their careers: Kyle Guy, Guillem Vives, Albert Ventura, Henry Ellenson, Vladimir Brodziansky, Andres Feliz, Simon Birgander or Josep Busquets but at the same time he also trusted young players like Joel Parra or Yannick Kraag.
After being eliminated at the limit in the Eurocup and the Spanish Cup, this qualification in the semifinals of the championship is a well-deserved prize, especially since it comes against a Euroleague team. The series with the queen of Europe is a bonus for the fans in Catalonia and tough matches are announced for Madrid.
Valentin Petruta
Photo: Eurocup
