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Friday, December 12, 2008
Going around the world, again and again!
 Hello everybody! The Eurocup regular season is so fast this time! The first half of the regular season is already over, which means everybody is already anxious and nervous to see if all 24 teams are reaching their initial goals or not. I would like to blog about all those aspects that people don't actually consider but which are also part of the game for us: traveling and practice.
I told you all a few days ago that Kalise Gran Canaria travels around more than any other team in Europe, taking part in the Spanish ACB League and the Eurocup this season. Sometimes we even have to take three different flights to reach our final destination. Of course, our trips around the continent come with all kind of anecdotes, adventures and consequences, just like any other long trip. Playing in the ACB and the Eurocup meant that we travel around 120,000 kilometers per season. That is the same distance as going around the world THREE TIMES! It is easy to say, but not that easy to do!
Furthermore, there are weeks in which we leave Gran Canaria on Friday morning to play a ACB road game on Saturday, and then we are not back until late Wednesday, once we have played our Eurocup game, as happened against Azovmash Mariupol in our first game in this competition. It was not only the long trip, but the fact that we lost by two points, in overtime, after such a long journey. You can only imagine our faces after the game, as well as how bad-tempered some of us were when that happened. Even with that, I won't be the one to complain about how uncomfortable the Eurocup trips can be. This is a very respected, valuable competition that allows both players and clubs to build prestige.
If there is something that is made truly difficult by these long trips, that has to be the number of mid-week practices. We are all so tired after traveling such distances that the coaches try to practice us in doses. It is not the number of times you get together that's important, but the intensity. There are weeks in which you face important games with just three practice sessions to get ready for it. That is something that can affect a team in the long run because the competition level is incredibly high, both in the ACB and the Eurocup. Sometimes your opponents have more time to work during the week and it pays off in the games. You also have to consider that we have to be mentally prepared, too. Sometimes you have a rhythm of games going that doesn't even allow you to think about your everyday things.
We have played against our three group opponents so far and all I thought about the Eurocup came true: the competition gets better and better every year. Maybe the high-profile teams are Khimki and Dynamo Moscow, because of the money they invested and how they are followed all around the continent. We are talking about teams put together with the only goal being to win this competition and join the Eurocup's older brother, the Euroleague. Will they make it? We will have to wait and see. Then there is a good number of teams like Lietuvos Rytas, Pamesa Valencia, Fortitudo Bologna, Kalise Gran Canaria and several others with lower budgets. We will all try to make the competition even more prestigious by beating them, as nothing is certain. After all, this is basketball, not math. Sometimes two and two don't have to equal four.
As for our regular season Group E, I would define it as "more than complicated". All four teams keep chances to qualify to the next round, there are no favorites at all, anyone can finish anywhere from first to fourth. A powerful team like L. Rytas has the highest ambitions, just as an up-and-coming squad like Azovmash, which has many good players. The same could be said about a giant of French basketball like Asvel. The group has been very interesting so far. Speaking about it, we counted on winning our two home games, but the loss against Asvel made us see that the reality is way different. Now we must win on the road to advance, which is tough, of course. Anything can happen, I hope! This is how great basketball is, sometimes greatness comes with the big surprises this sport brings around. Nothing is for certain!
Coming up in my next blog, I hope to speak about how professional basketball players also try to get a university degree. Until then, let's all keep it going!
POSTED BY
Mario Fernandez - Gran Canaria
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