Euroleague day 9
This Baskonia has definitely changed its face. There is nothing left, or very little, of that sad team overwhelmed by circumstances that suffered a painful 0-6 at the start of the Euroleague. Paolo Galbiati’s team seems to have finally found its way and there are now four consecutive victories, three in European competitions (Dubai, Efes and Virtus) plus a very meritorious one in the ACB League against Tenerife, who arrived top of the list in Vitoria and left with their first defeat of the season. This Thursday they downplayed Virtus Bologna from the first quarter, with a lead almost always above ten points. That Carsen Edwards, a lethal shooter, ended the first ten minutes with zero points says a lot about the defensive work of Galbiati’s team. The American scoring machine finished with 13 points and a rating of 3, with very poor shooting percentages (4/16).
The victory against Dubai last week was the turning point for a team that found joy on the hardwood, confirmed two days later against Efes and on Sunday against Tenerife, yes, all home games, like today’s against Virtus. The challenge now for Baskonia is to seal this change of game and results starting this week, with Sunday’s trips to Lleida in ACB, and that which comes with trips to Sofia and Belgrade to play against the Israeli exiles, Hapoel and Maccabi Tel Aviv, in the Euroleague, and Barcelona to face the culés again in national competitions.
Baskonia’s play was intense throughout the match, showing speed in attack and intensity in defense. Not in vain the coach of the Azzurri, Dusko Ivanovic, a legend on the Alava bench, recognized at the end of the match that the big difference was the physique displayed by Galbiati’s men. In this sense, Hamidou Diallo stood out, spearhead of the Baskonista team in attack in the first half, playing one of the most complete games since landing in Vitoria (14 points, 6 rebounds and a PIR of 17). The American was very well supported by one of the best versions of the season, Tadas Sederkerkis (13 points, 4 rebounds for a PIR of 16), strong in defensive work and clairvoyant in attack, and by Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot who appeared in hot moments.
Baskonia arrives at halftime with a clear lead (46-34), and in the third it seems that the locals can control the match. But Virtus Bologna won’t make things easy. Carsen Edwards hasn’t shown up yet, but the Azzurri have moved closer in the standings thanks to a spectacular Niang (18 points, 12 rebounds and a score of +35). A partial of 0-9 for the Italians puts them on the brink of a comeback. They were just one point away (58-57 with a minute and a half left in the third quarter), but a technical to Derrick Alston Jr. cemented the Victorian reaction. That’s where Luwawu-Cabarrot and Markquis Nowell appeared, with two triples that gave them life. Baskonia extended their lead again at the end of the third period and at the beginning of the last quarter until they reached a maximum lead of 16 points and achieved victory without too many difficulties (87-76).
The match also ended as it began, with a tribute to Achille Polonara, former Baskonia and Virtus player and patient of myeloid leukemia. If at the beginning all the players and technical staff of both teams posed with a banner bearing the motto Come on Achiand the captains of both teams, Sedekerskis and Pajola, took out the Barça shirt with his name and his legendary number 33 – with which he provided the assist for Vildoza’s basket that gave Baskonia the ACB title in 2020 -, at the end of the clash it was Galbiati, in Spanish and Italian in his statements to Movistar, who sent, Polonara shirt in hand, encouragement to the Italian international who is fighting to save his life.
