Regular Season
- October 22, 2008
- PALACIO DE LOS DEPORTES J.M. MARTIN CARPENA
Local time: 8:45 PM
TV
CET: 8:45 PM
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Head Coaches
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GARCIA RENESES, AITO
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Unicaja head coach
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"We are facing the start of the Euroleague a little better than the Spanish League, since now we can have some youngsters by our side which we can't in the domestic league. But we also have the difficulty of double games each week in both competitions too, so we'll see how we face this situation. We can't fail against any rival, and we cannot take it for granted that our first opponent, Le Mans, is one of the least favorite teams of the group. That has to be proved on court. We will give it all to take this win."
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JACKSON, JOHN-DAVID
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Le Mans head coach
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"This first match will be a very big challenge for us. It is difficult to win road games in the Euroleague, especially against one of the top teams like Unicaja, but we will not back down and do everything we can to give ourselves a chance. Our goal is to get a good start and prove to everybody, and to ourselves that we can compete at this level. It will take a huge performance for us to win, but anything is possible on the first day."
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Players
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WELSCH, JIRI
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Unicaja guard
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"I think it's a good thing to start at home against one of the not so powerful teams in our group. We only have to think about winning and starting this pahse with the right foot. We will play twice a week now, which I think will help us to get our rhythm. We only have to get the good results. Last year we didn't lose any Euroleague game at home and I think that we will have to repeat that if we want to do something in this competition this year. We must be strong at home and show also that we can win on the road."
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BLUTHENTHAL, DAVID
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Le Mans forward
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"Personally, I feel excited to begin this new Euroleague season. As a team, I think we are prepared for this first game. In Malaga, we have to believe in ourselves even if it’s a big team that we’ll play against."
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Two teams coming off disappointing seasons will look to start the new one on a high note when Unicaja hosts Le Mans Sarthe Basket at the Martin Carpena Sports Palace in Malaga, Spain, on Wednesday. Unicaja reached the 2007 Euroleague Final Four, but failed to reach the playoffs last season. Meanwhile Le Mans’s campaign featured 12 straight losses before finishing with back-to-back wins. But Le Mans has changed much since then, including starting fresh at the head coaching spot with former player J.D. Jackson taking over. The new-look squad features a fine mix of tough, defensive-minded players with some offensive aces to give Jackson plenty of ways to win basketball games. Meanwhile Unicaja also has a new coach, the great Aito Garcia Reneses, and upgraded on last season’s roster, although injuries have taken their toll as well. Unicaja has an overflow of talent in the backcourt, with Carlos Cabezas, Omar Cook and Joseph Gomis all capable of playing point, Jiri Welsch and Thomas Kelati on the wings and Carlos Jimenez at small forward. They will be challenged by Brian Chase, Dee Spencer and teenager Antoine Diot at guard and three-point marksman David Bluthenthal at small forward. In the paint, Unicaja returns Boniface Ndong and Marcus Haislip, but also boasts newcomer Robert Archibald and young Vitor Faverani. They will lock horns with Pape Badiane and Alain Koffi at center and Maleye Ndoye and J.P. Batista at power forward. Unicaja swept Le Mans last season, though the teams are dramatically different today. In fact only five players that scored in the last game between them are set to take the floor on Wednesday. It will be interesting to see how each team rises to the challenge of opening night. Unicaja has the experience to handle these situations better, plus the hunger that some of the newcomers bring along. Le Mans has a host of players looking to prove themselves plus the ability to play pressure-free as Unicaja is the favorite – especially as home. The key to the game for the visitors will be having it perimeter players get hot, thus creating space for the big men too. If Bluthenthal and Spencer can generate points and Chase can set up the big guys, Unicaja will feel the pressure. However if the hosts control the tempo and get their defense going, it will be a fun night for the fans in Malaga.
GAME NOTES
Unicaja
- Only four players on the Unicaja roster – Omar Cook, Vitor Faverani, Joseph Gomis and Thomas Kelati – enter the season without previous Euroleague experience.
- Swingman Jiri Welsch needs just 3 more steals to reach 100 for his Euroleague Basketball career.
- Head coach Aito Garcia Reneses coached two of his current Unicaja players, forward Carlos Jimenez and swingman Berni Rodriguez, to the silver medal with the Spanish national team at the Olympic Games in Beijing over the summer.
Le Mans
- Head coach J.D. Jackson will coach his first Euroleague game Week 1 at Unicaja.
- David Bluthenthal is not only the only player on the Le Mans squad to have won a Euroleague title, but he is the only one to have reached the Final Four.
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Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Euroleague.net
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