|
|
The Club Scene: Gran Canaria
|
 If one team can be said to go the furthest in order to compete in the ULEB Cup, that team is Gran Canaria. Named for the capital of the Canary Islands, which are part of Spain but sit closer to the west coast of Africa, Gran Canaria is located further from the European mainland than any team that participates in the ULEB Cup. Its shortest road trip during this regular season, to Cholet in France, is a matter of at least 5 hours travel time. Its longest, to Maroussi in Athens, can reach 9 hours. Nonetheless, Gran Canaria competes with the best of the competition, currently sharing first place in Group C. The pride of representing the islands makes up part of the team's competitive spirit, says the team's second best scorer in the ULEB Cup, Roberto Guerra, who grew up with the club. "The fact of being a newcomer in a team from islands that are so far from the continent can be difficult at first," Guerra said. "You have to get used to it. Winning on the road was a difficult task for us. However, we have also adapted to that rhythm and we don't think about it anymore. On the contrary, it is a positive thing for us and makes our arena a tough place for other teams to come to and win. We have a good climate all year long and when teams come here to play in January or February they feel like they are in the summer all of a sudden. That, together with the trip they have made and the fans that pack the arena, put big pressure on them and gives us a slight advantage that we always try to use."
CB Gran Canaria has gone from a school club to the pride of a whole island in the last 40 years. Its rise has been spectacular, especially in recent years, when it has gone from fighting to stay in the Spanish League to becoming one of the teams to beat there, despite its limited budget. The team started in a famous school called Colegio Claret, one of several branches around Spain and South America respected for its educational level. The schools also enjoyed sports tradition, and Claret Gran Canaria was not an exception. Its basketball teams soon became strong within the Canary Islands in the fifties and the sixties. Due to those good results, Colegio Claret decided to start a senior team in 1963 to compete at the national level in the Spanish second division.
For more than 20 years, Colegio Claret stayed in the second division, cementing its status as the strongest club in the Canary Islands. Things changed in 1984, however, as the team decided to become an independent body, a process completed a year later. The team was promoted to the first Spanish division (ACB) that very same year, 1985. Claret signed the spectacular Willie Jones, who put on shows of 47 points against Joventut in Badalona or 40 at home against Huesca, but he couldn't keep the new team above water. Despite his leadership and a supporting cast which featured players like the late Javier Abadia, Jose Luis Subias, Tony Costner or Matias Marrero, the team was relegated to the second division after a playoff.
Greg Stewart's arrival for the 1986-87 season made Claret a much better team. He would stay for six seasons, pushing Claret up to the first division again in 1988, when the club changed its name to CB Gran Canaria so as to represent the whole island. Stewart's size and soft touch made him a 25-points-per night scorer, and a leader on and off the court. Led by Stewart and veteran center Tom Scheffler, Canaria stayed in the first division for two seasons. It returned for the 1991-92 season, but fell backwards again. It wasn't until 1995 when the team finally consolidated itself in the top Spanish competition. Some of the players who played for Gran Canaria through that stretch, like Joan Pera, Berdi Perez or Juan Ramon Marrero, still belong to the club, playing key roles in this basketball organization.
Stewart was long gone, but Gran Canaria started to earn a reputation for bringing in great American talents despite its limited budget. Top gun John Morton teamed up with big men Albert Burditt and Shaun Vandiver for the next two seasons, easily assuring the team's permanence in the first division. Soon, Gran Canaria fans saw their team challenge the big names in Spanish basketball each and every season. A solid group of role players such as playmaker Berni Hernandez, shooter Jaume Morales, mobile big man Santi Toledo or forward Brian Clifford was consolidated by the 1996-97 season. When Vandiver left, he was replaced by Bernard Hopkins, an newcomer who had sudden impact, boosting Gran Canaria to a 10th-place finish, its best standing ever, with wins against Tau Ceramica, Unicaja, Estudiantes and Barcelona, on the road by 85-107 in a game that featured 37 points and 16-for-19 shooting by Hopkins.
The team did even better in 1999-00. Clifford, Hernandez, Deon Thomas, sharp shooter Jorge Racca and David Wood powered the team all the way to the Spanish League playoffs, where it lost to mighty Real Madrid. Two softer seasons followed, but the club now had a young talent from its own school, Roberto Guerra, to promote to its main roster. Guerra knows the team better than anyone else, and knows where it belongs: "Gran Canaria is a team that not only represents the island of Gran Canaria but I think the whole Canary Islands. It is a serious club that has become one of the solid members of the Spanish League in the last years, and I think that the feeling of that has translated to the fans, who fill the arena for every home game."
Things changed once coach Pedro Martinez arrived to the team for 2002-03 and turned it into a perennial contender. Berdi Perez, the general manager and one of the best talent scouts anywhere, added Gonzalo Martinez at playmaker, Larry Lewis and Bud Eley in the frontcourt, and sharpshooters Jay Larrañaga and Jason Klein on the perimeter. That was the season that Guerra became a major contributor, also. "I feel like somebody who is important, and the club trusts me," says Guerra. "The fact that I am from Gran Canaria also makes it better for the club to use me for campaigns to attract more season ticket holders. I am happy because I think I am valued here." That team supplied the club's highest Spanish League finished yet, fifth place, and earned a spot in the ULEB Cup, giving Canaria its first European experience ever. To get ready for that, the club hired Pat Burke, Marcus Goree and Kirk Penney while receving top prospect Fran Vazquez on loan from Unicaja. In the ULEB Cup, the team made the elimination rounds only to lose to another Spanish team, Real Madrid, by a narrow margin. Another return to the Spanish League playoffs ended in a first-round loss, also, to eventual champion Barcelona.
Once again last summer, Gran Canaria had to spend wisely to replace key departing players like Goree, Penney and Vazquez. A whole new frontcourt arrived, with Sitapha Savane, Will McDonald, Ime Udoka, Fotis Lampropoulos and Edu Hernandez-Sonseca, the latter on loan from Real Madrid. So far this season, Gran Canaria is holding its own with a 4-3 record, part of a four-way tie for first place in Group C of the ULEB Cup, while sitting fourth in the Spanish League with a 10-4 record. The future looks brighter than ever for a team that goes furthest just to compete in European basketball competitions. Gran Canaria still keeps a close relationship with Colegio Claret and collaborates with it in many ways, but like any good student, the team left school long ago and is ready for bigger challenges.
|
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Javier Gancedo, ULEBcup.com
|
|