While the EuroLeague was staging its inaugural Super Cup, several countries held their own domestic Super Cups. Spain was among them, with the tournament going ahead in a normal schedule thanks to Real Madrid’s failure to qualify. The spanish powerhouse took part —and won— the continental Supercup, postponing a potential scheduling conflict for at least another year. So we will have to wait and see what happens in the future. In any case, the first tournament of the Spanish basketball season, won by Joventut on home soil as they claimed their first title since 2008, offers a number of early takeaways worth keeping in mind, even at this stage of the campaign.
1) Was Laprovittola really not worth keeping at Barça?
What a performance from the Argentine in his first official weekend back with Joventut, the team he once called home! He poured in 27 points and dished out 10 assists in the semifinal against Kosner Baskonia, then followed that up with 31 points, including nine three-pointers, in the final against Barça, his team until just a few weeks ago.
Laprovittola was surely extra motivated to prove that he still had what it takes to play for Barça. But considering the level he showed even last season, was there really no room for him in the Blaugrana locker room, even in a veteran role?
2) Joventut mean business this season… and Ricky Rubio is questing for (another) title
When Ricky Rubio returned to basketball last season to play for Joventut, the club where he came through the ranks, he had two main goals. First, to reconnect with a sport with which his relationship had not always been an easy one. And second, to win a title with the team of his life —something Joventut had not done since 2008, when Rubio was still on the roster that lifted both the Copa del Rey and the ULEB Cup.
The point guard has now achieved both objectives, but he has his sights set on something more this season. Joventut have once again made some excellent additions over the summer, despite the significant loss of Cameron Hunt, and they have every reason to aim high.
The FIBA Basketball Champions League, where last season’s major disappointment came when they failed to reach the Final Four —held in Badalona, no less— and the Copa del Rey are both realistic targets for a team that showed at the Super Cup that it is ready to go toe-to-toe with EuroLeague sides, too.
3) Barça: more versatility and athleticism, but less experience and a lack of feel for the bigger picture
Barça have undergone one of the biggest overhauls of the European transfer market. As many as 11 new players have joined the Blaugrana, in a clear attempt to lower the roster’s average age and add more athleticism, albeit at the expense of experience.
A staggering 1,848 EuroLeague games’ worth of experience left the team, while the newcomers brought in just 186 games in return. This weekend offered an early glimpse of some of the squad’s strengths, but also of what could prove to be its biggest weakness.
There is no doubt that Barça have raised their athletic ceiling, while also adding versatile players capable of filling several positions. However, such a major overhaul, involving so many players with little or no experience in Europe, will inevitably require time. They need to understand the environment they are playing in and what it means to wear this jersey.
The final against Joventut was a case in point. Barça gave the impression that they were playing just another game, as if there were no trophy at stake —despite having gone two years without winning anything— and as if their opponents were not one of their fiercest historical rivals.
Joventut simply wanted it more. The Badalona side even dominated the boards, 36-25, despite Barça’s considerable physical advantages.
Barça need time. And they need their players to understand where they are.
4) Valencia want to stick to their identity, but rebuilding their lost cohesion will take time
The reigning Liga Endesa champions surrendered their Super Cup crown. It has been a difficult summer for Valencia, who suffered a massive exodus of players and members of the coaching staff who had delivered so much success last season.
Although they have responded ambitiously in the transfer market, it is clear that they will need time to rediscover the chemistry and automaticity that made them so impressive down the stretch last season.
They came within one point of reaching the final, falling 87-86 to Barça in a game that could have gone either way. There were also early signs that TJ Shorts has arrived in Valencia determined to show that the player we saw at Panathinaikos was nowhere near his best version.
The point guard will be the team’s undisputed floor general. Kameron Taylor remains a reliable presence, but Armoni Brooks needs to offer considerably more if the Taronja are to reach their full potential.
The former Milan player’s performance, along with the development of young talents such as Saint-Supery and Corbalán —both of whom played relatively limited roles at the Super Cup— could prove decisive in determining whether Valencia can challenge for titles again this season.
Under Xavi Albert, the club are sticking with the up-tempo approach inherited from the Pedro Martínez era. Whether that identity can translate into immediate success will depend on how quickly the new-look roster comes together.
5) Baskonia have problems. And quite a few of them.
After one of the most turbulent summers in recent memory in Vitoria, Kosner Baskonia’s first competitive outing of the season left plenty to be desired. They were thoroughly outplayed by Joventut in the semifinal.
The lack of physical presence in the paint for Paolo Galbiati’s team was glaring, even with Ante Tomic unavailable for the hosts.
Perhaps the most curious development was the club’s announcement, just days before the tournament, that Ukrainian big man Alex Len had signed. Len was presented to the media and even took part in practice, only for Galbiati to leave him out of the squad without offering any further explanation.
“He is not travelling,” the coach repeated, time and again, in response to the media’s questions. His terse answer inevitably fuelled speculation about the reasons behind the center’s absence —and the state of his relationship with the club after such a turbulent summer.
One thing is clear: having Faried as the team’s only true center is not enough.
And the EuroLeague is already upon us.
