Following a turbulent preseason, during which Paolo Galbiati’s position as head coach was far from secure for several weeks, Kosner Baskonia have started the season facing a situation that is as unusual as it is concerning in the frontcourt. As things stand, the Vitoria-based side have just one true center on their roster, veteran Kenneth Faried, hardly an ideal scenario for navigating the opening stretch of the season with both the EuroLeague and Liga Endesa already underway.
Baskonia have found themselves in this predicament after Khalifa Diop’s unexpected departure to the Cleveland Cavaliers threw their plans into disarray in September. By then, with Faried having only just arrived in Vitoria, the problem in the paint was already glaringly obvious: the team needed at least two more players to be genuinely competitive. Tadas Sedekerskis, Rodions Kurucs and Clement Frisch, all power forwards, complete the frontcourt rotation. Alex Len was brought in to begin addressing the issue.
The Ukrainian signed a two-year deal and, after his first practice at the Buesa Arena, disappeared from team activities just before the Endesa Super Cup. “He’s not travelling,” was Paolo Galbiati’s terse response on repeated occasions during the press conference ahead of Baskonia’s trip to Badalona for the Super Cup. Persistent questions from the media about the reasons behind the decision only prompted the Italian to repeat the same words over and over: “He’s not travelling, he’s not travelling.” Not a single explanation came from the head coach, who was visibly frustrated by the situation.
With 36, almost 37, year-old, Faried as their only center, Kosner Baskonia failed to impress at the Super Cup, falling 96-84 to Joventut Badalona in the semifinals. Joventut would go on to lift the trophy. The EuroLeague opener came next, and just 24 hours before, it emerged that Alex Len would be leaving the club without ever making his debut.
“The Ukrainian player completed his first practice with the team. However, following that initial session, he experienced discomfort in his foot, related to an area that had already been treated during the previous season,” the club explained in an official statement.
Just 24 hours later, Baskonia suffered a comprehensive 89-106 home defeat against Olympiacos, who barely had to shift out of second gear to begin their continental title defense with a win. In both games, Baskonia were outrebounded by their opponents: 50-44 against Joventut and 42-34 against the Greek side.
Days continue to tick by, and Faried, who will find it difficult to sustain his trademark intensity while playing three games a week, remains alone in the middle. Even so, Kosner Baskonia managed to grind out an important 98-97 win on Sunday in their Liga Endesa season opener at San Pablo Burgos.
That said, the victory could almost be described as a miracle, given that the home side pulled down 51 rebounds, including a staggering 23 on the offensive glass, compared to Baskonia’s meager 26. Another equally striking statistic: Burgos attempted 78 field goals (57 two-pointers and 21 three-pointers), while Baskonia managed just 62 (35 and 27, respectively). Both teams were even at the free-throw line, attempting 26 apiece.
To put Baskonia’s remarkable win into historical perspective, one has to dig deep into the Liga ACB archives. Only once before had a team won a game despite such a massive rebounding deficit: Mayoral Maristas Málaga, one of the predecessors of today’s Unicaja, beat Cajacanarias (now La Laguna Tenerife) 77-86 on the road in 1991 despite being outrebounded by 28, 49-21.
In fact, there is no precedent for such a result in the 21st century. The closest examples are Real Madrid’s 89-87 playoff win over Unicaja in 2014, despite losing the rebounding battle 38-18, and Real Madrid’s 74-80 defeat to Caja Laboral Baskonia in 2010. On that occasion, the Vitoria side won despite collecting exactly half as many rebounds as their opponents, 22-44.
Despite the importance of the win in Burgos, the rebounding numbers paint a troubling picture of Baskonia’s frontcourt situation. The team’s perimeter talent, highlighted by strong performances from Chris Duarte, AJ Lawson and even Damion Baugh, who had raised plenty of doubts during the preseason, allowed them to survive a tough road test in domestic competition. But the EuroLeague is a different beast, and with so few options available in the paint, it is difficult to see how Baskonia can consistently compete, let alone win, at that level.
And the schedule, naturally, waits for no one. This week, Baskonia travel to Valencia on Tuesday before hosting Olimpia Milano on Friday, both in EuroLeague action, and then return to the court on Sunday to face Bàsquet Girona in Liga Endesa play.
That is a punishing workload for a frontcourt that is still in its infancy and desperately needs reinforcements before it is too late.
