Biding my time and credits
Hello everyone! This is Javier Gancedo and as usual, I am back to tell you about the Sportingbet Fantasy Challenge and other
stuff related to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. First of all, the regular season is totally unpredictable so far! After Union
Olimpija downed Panathinaikos in overtime - two weeks after a double-overtime thriller against Efes Pilsen - I am sure that some
Slovenian fans with heart problems will consider skipping games at Stozice Arena, the Euroleague's newest hot spot in terms
of basketball atmosphere, just outstanding! Speaking of extraordinary audiences, all Partizan mt:s Belgrade home games have
gone beyond basketball to become the social event in Belgrade where everyone wants to be. Even when Partizan lost against
Maccabi Electra, fans called the team back on the floor for their usual singalong goodbye song. It goes without saying that
most Euroleague teams have some of the best fans in the world. You gotta love this competition.
It has been an amazing week. Despite losing Keith Langford to a small injury - no worries, good people out there, he will
play and the club confirmed it - BC Khimki edged extra-difficult Caja Laboral 64-60. Brose Baskets joins a four-way tie for first
place in Group B. Fenerbahce Ulker played arguably its best defensive game in many years to defeat mighty Regal FC Barcelona
at Palau Blaugrana. CSKA is 0-3 and comes off its worst European loss since 1997 - but those that underestimate the Russian
powerhouse will be in trouble, no question about that. Viktor Khryapa has rejoined practices and everything will click soon.
Watch out!
The fact that this competition is totally unpredictable affects Sportingbet Fantasy Challenge, too. I thought that my 117.8 points was a
terrible, terrible score. By the time the computing process was over, I was shocked to see that I ranked 6,908th - way better
than I expected. As such, and despite my terrible start, I keep climbing spots but still rank 14,515th in the overall
standings. It is good to see that our Fantasy Challenge guest Ermal Kuqo had a very good week and reached the top 1,000 in
the game. He is trying a number of combinations, which means he is very active and motivated in the game. It will be tough to
beat him, but I will do my best. I could say everyone can see my team - but you can see his, too, there is a LINK to his team inside the game. We also
added the best-possible team, which can be seen HERE.
As for my trades, it is still too early to afford whoever I want and, once again, I am all for the credits. I have around
547.7 credits and it is definitely not enough. Half of my team is underpriced - Kerem Tunceri, Vladimir Dasic, Leon
Radosevic, Stanko Barac and by a little margin, Langford - and only one is way overpriced - Bojan Bogdanovic, who is staying
put because I really believe in him and he plays at home next week. So that leaves me with 4 players and I have only 3 trades. Bobby
Brown has to go again because I really cannot take more risks. No matter how much I like Serhiy Lishchuk, he will go because
Robertas Javtokas is in shape and he will see limited playing time from now on. The third trade has to be Joel Freeland or
Fernando San Emeterio. Both play at home but Roma has big centers like Josh Heytvelt and Andrea Crosariol, so I am trading
Freeland.
So I have 123.6 credits available for 3 players. Not a lot of money. My first choice will be one of my favorite players, Ante
Tomic of Real Madrid. I think he can do a pretty good job against Brose Baskets. I need a talented, inexpensive point guard
and my choice is Vule Avdalovic. Cholet comes off its first win, faces a critical game in Zagreb and Cibona is not really
deep at point guard. Both Tomic and Avdalovic are underpriced, which is a must right now. With 37.19 credits left, I cannot
pretend to have a superstar or even I player I think it will have a 20+ index. Still, there are good players available: Lior
Eliyahu, Boni Ndong, Kerem Gonlum, Mirsad Turkcan and my favorite Kenan Bajramovic, who plays at Palau Blaugrana and
therefore is ineligible, due to Gancedo rule #1: never get a player against Barcelona at Palau. One of them is averaging 30 minutes and
is underpriced. Welcome to Meet The Boss, Mr. Gonlum.
So my still-developing team, currently under construction, looks like this in Week 4:
Point guards:
Kerem Tunceri - still underpriced and playing the best basketball in his career.
Vule Avdalovic - has a size advantage against Rok Stipcevic and Cholet Basket faces a big game.
Shooting guards and small forwards:
Bojan Bogdanovic - taking a risk with him, I think he will bounce back from his game in Siena.
Keith Langford - Kelati will be back soon, but Langford has been unstoppable so far.
Fernando San Emeterio - a major reference for Caja Laboral. San Emeterio is a must so far.
Vladimir Dasic - Will stay here until he isn't underpriced. Watch out, Luigi Datome may be back!
Power forwards and centers:
Kerem Gonlum - If Aleks Maric stays sidelined, Gonlum will rebound well at both ends in Athens.
Leon Radosevic - Very undepriced and seeing a lot of playing time. So far he is a keeper.
Ante Tomic - Has a size advantage against Tibor Pleiss and Kyle Hines, but needs to step up.
Stanko Barac - Playing at home and facing another big-sized center, Mirza Begic. Interesting matchup!
That's all for me this week! Choose wisely, avoid overpriced players and make the most out of Sportingbet Fantasy Challenge! As
usual, you can reach me at fantasychallenge@euroleague.net. Stay tuned and see you next week!
POSTED BY
Javier Gancedo - Euroleague.net
DATE:
Sunday, November 07, 2010