It’s been a long time since I’ve updated this blog, too long! However, I’m back now and excited to give you my thoughts and analysis on all the major events in the sports world as well as provide reviews on sports books, TV shows, movies, and video games. I thought a fitting way to return to blogging would be to show my appreciation of the vast world of sports and in doing so, I am here today to talk about Euroleague basketball and in particular, Game Two of the Quarterfinal series between Spanish powerhouse FC Barcelona Regal and Russian newcomers UNICS Kazan.
Around this time of year, the sporting world’s attention is focused on who will be advancing to the Final Four of the NCAA basketball tournament. However, there is another Final Four in men’s basketball, which receives much less media attention and worldwide interest, and that is the Euroleague Final Four, which will be hosted in Istanbul, Turkey in the coming months. This somewhat low–key sporting event on the worldwide radar is essentially basketball at its purest. The energy and passion of the fans is unmatched in basketball, at the collegiate or pro level. Do you think the Cameron Crazies at Duke are rowdy? They are nothing in comparison to the fans over here in Europe, particularly in Eastern Europe.
Onto the game I was fortunate enough to have watched, Thursday’s quarterfinal game at the Palau Blaugrana arena in Barcelona. Normally when you think of Barcelona, you have images in your head of Lionel Messi making opponents look stupid at the Camp Nou, and rightly so, in my opinion, he is the best player to ever grace a football pitch and is playing with one of the greatest club sides of all time. Be that as it may, there is also a strong basketball tradition in Catalonian roots. If you have any interest in the NBA, you have surely heard of the Gasol brothers, Pau and Marc, or maybe the Timberwolves point guard Rick Rubio has dazzled you with his skillful passing. They all played for FC Barcelona Regal, a team that has won two Euroleague Championships. In the quarterfinals of this year’s Euroleague playoffs, they are facing off against UNICS Kazan from Kazan, Russia. You may remember UNICS from a book I reviewed, ‘Can I Keep My Jersey?’, by Paul Shirley who had a brief 9–game stint with the team.
It was the first Euroleague game I had watched all season but I quickly realized that it was a battle of opposing gameplans and styles. Barcelona is a team that looks to compete in a shootout; they want quick possessions and easy points on fast breaks. UNICS, on the other hand, is a team that likes to control the tempo and play a half-court game, which emphasizes efficiency in making the most of every possession. Barcelona shot out of the gates and went on an 11–2 run to start the game as UNICS couldn’t get anything going. Their offense was stagnant and had poor motion. However, despite being an up–and–coming team, they still have good leadership and experience, which showed as they stuck to the game plan and showed great patience in doing so. They gradually began to give Australian center Nathan Jawai the ball in the low post as they spread the floor and let him go to work. In spite of sitting out the entire 2nd Quarter, Jawai led all scorers with 21 points and added 10 rebounds in a dominant performance. The 6 ft 10, 280lb specimen was fascinating to watch and subsequently, fascinating to learn about. Jawai is an Indigenous Australian who grew up playing rugby league and although he isn’t fundamentally sound, he has a terrific motor is he work ethic shows on the boards where he was able to collect 6 offensive rebounds. Unfortunately, the “Outback Shaq” had trouble holding onto the ball and his five turnovers really proved costly.
