The Spanish teams dominating the Basketball Champions League
The Spanish Liga Endesa is still considered to be the best domestic basketball league in Europe (it has been for the past about 20 years), and the results in the European club competitions prove it. In the EuroLeague, there are 4 Spanish teams, more than from any other country, but this season, they might not be the main contenders for the title. In the EuroCup, there is only one team this year, which is Manresa, but the Catalan squad is struggling so far. However, in the FIBA Basketball Champions League, we have 4 teams and all of them have good chances to win the trophy. The rosters and the perfect 4-0 start for all four of them make them the main contenders.
In Group C, Joventut Badalona already beat Bursaspor twice while also defeating Hapoel Holon away and Cholet at home and all four wins were in double digits. In the last game against Bursaspor in Turkey, Daniel Miret’s team had a bad third quarter, but they comfortably won the fourth quarter and the game. The best performer so far in the BCL for Joventut is their superstar point guard, Ricky Rubio, who returned to Badalona after starting his career for the green and black team. Rubio has 14 ppg and 4.3 apg. Another veteran, center Ante Tomic, is the second-best scorer with 11.3 ppg (also 4.5 rpg and 4.3 apg).
In Group D, Tenerife has 4-0 in a group with Tofas, Bnei Herzliya and Trapani. Bruno Fitipaldo has 12 ppg in 4 games, followed by Jaime Fernandez with 11.5 ppg and Rokas Giedraitis with 11 ppg. However, the leader of the team is certainly Marcelinho Huertas. The 42-year-old point guard has 10.3 ppg, and he is leading his team in assists with 5.8 apg.
In Group G, Unicaja Malaga has destroyed all opponents so far. They beat Mersin twice by 31 and 23 points, Oostende by 22 and Karditsas by 17 points. The Andalusian team is dominating the group and is the main contender for the BCL title once again. Kendrick Perry has 12.5 ppg for Unicaja, and he is followed by Tyson Perez and Chris Duarte.
Finally, in Group H, Gran Canaria has a perfect record against Spartak Subotica, Le Mans and Benfica. They had a difficult game at home, won by 5 points in the end, but the other three wins were by 10 points or more. Isaiah Wong with 15.3 ppg and Nicolas Brussino with 13.8 ppg are the leaders of the team so far.
Imre Halasz
Photo credit: CB Gran Canaria
