San Pablo Burgos and Baxi Manresa hunting the last spots of the BasketballCL playoffs
Two Spanish teams are on the top of their groups in Basketball Champions League. It’s about Casademont Zaragoza and Iberostar Tenerife, true title contenders of the entire competitions, while the other 2 Iberic participants are struggling to qualify this week, in the last round.
San Pablo Burgos will be involved in a direct clash with the Germans from Rasta Vechta. The Spaniards sacrificed their domestic league game in the weekend losing badly at Real Betis Sevilla, probably to rest their players for this crucial game. The same did Vechta at Ludwigsburg and it’s normal that the teams are slowing down the engine in their domestic league, preparing the vital clash in BasketballCL. In this battle, Burgos will have an important advantage, playing at home, in front of their crowds of fans, but let’s not underestimate Rasta Vechta who proved that they can win important games away this season.
In the other group, Baxi Manresa who started very well the season in BasketballCL will face the already qualified Dinamo Sassari in a game that can take them to the playoffs. The Spanish squad made some impressive appearances this season, stealing some important wins in Liga Endesa and in Europe, but in the last games, they were drowning. Manresa has lost 4 from the last 5 games in BasketballCL, being now in danger to be eliminated too early from the competition. They are a very good team, with an excellent coach, but their main problem was the repeated injuries of some players. Actually, only a few times this season, Baxi Manresa had the entire roster available.
It looks like Manresa sacrificed too their game at Obradoiro this weekend in the Spanish league, while Dinamo Sassari lost against Trieste. For Sassari, this last round of BasketballCL is not so important since they will be – no matter what – in the playoffs. But for Manresa is maybe the most significant moment of their European campaign and they have to prove their value, especially having the privilege to play at home.
Photo: Basketball Champions League
Gratian Cormos
