With less than three weeks to go before the EuroLeague gets underway, and just 13 days before the team takes to the court in an official competition with the Endesa Super Cup, Kosner Baskonia find themselves going through an exceptionally difficult preseason.
Just when it seemed that the toughest part of the summer was behind them, following the decision to keep Italian coach Paolo Galbiati at the helm after one of the summer’s biggest basketball soap operas, the start of training camp and the opening stage of preseason have proved particularly challenging for the Vitoria-based side.
The long list of absentees over the past few weeks has left Baskonia struggling even to put together quality practices, and forced the club to cancel its first preseason game against Gipuzkoa Basket of Primera FEB — Spain’s second tier — because they did not have enough available players to take the floor.
As a result, Galbiati’s team played its first exhibition game this Saturday, being blown out by Real Madrid, 121-80, in a game in which Baskonia, particularly in the frontcourt, looked completely out of its depth. In fact, in the hours leading up to the game, the club considered pulling out once again. However, the charity nature of the event —held in León in memory of former player Urbano González, who recently passed away from ALS, with proceeds going toward the fight against the disease— ultimately led Baskonia to take the floor, despite knowing that the circumstances were extremely unfavorable.
And Real Madrid, who had lost their own first preseason game just days earlier, immediately exposed the gap between the two teams, taking control almost from the opening tip: 46-26 after the first quarter and 78-39 at halftime.
Still, the final scoreline has to be viewed in the context of Kosner Baskonia’s current situation. For various physical reasons, Markus Howard, Tadas Sedekerskis, Rodions Kurucs, Dewayne Stewart and Stefan Joksimovic were all unavailable for the game, just as they had been during recent practices in Vitoria.
There were two further complications. First, Kenneth Faried was also unavailable, having landed in Spain only a few hours before the team tipped off against Real Madrid. Second, Khalifa Diop’s recent and unexpected departure for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA has left Baskonia’s frontcourt even more exposed than it already was, if that was possible.
As a result, several players who will not be part of the first team once the official season begins were called upon to complete the roster on Saturday: academy prospects Hugo Alonso, Pedro Souza —‘Pedrinho’— and Thierry Henry Alves, as well as French point guard Mehdy Ngouama and Dutch center Lucas N’Guessan, who are currently training with the team during preseason while waiting to secure their next contracts away from Baskonia.
That meant only six players whom Galbiati genuinely expects to rely on during the competitive season were able to face Real Madrid: Kobi Simmons, Damion Baugh, Matteo Spagnolo, Clement Frisch, AJ Lawson and Chris Duarte.
And, as if Baskonia did not have enough problems already, Baugh’s performance was particularly concerning. The recently capped Democratic Republic of the Congo international looked a long way from where he needs to be —both physically and in terms of adapting to the European game— with the demands of the competition and opponents of Real Madrid’s caliber just weeks away. And he really suffered in both ends in his first game with Baskonia.
In this situation, logic suggests that the Vitoria side needs two frontcourt additions —with at least one appearing essential— if they are to face an extremely demanding season with any realistic guarantees of being competitive. It is also difficult to see how Faried, who will turn 37 in just two months, can maintain his trademark intensity while playing two or three games a week.
However, the club’s recent history suggests that a solution may not be forthcoming immediately. In recent years, Baskonia have tended to operate with shorter rosters than is customary among EuroLeague teams, while financially they simply cannot go head-to-head with Europe’s biggest projects.
Therefore, although the arrival of at least one big man appears to be a prerequisite if Baskonia are to put a competitive team on the floor, it is likely that the club’s front office will remain patient and wait for the right market opportunity before committing to further reinforcements.
In any case, no matter how little the Real Madrid result should be taken into account, the calendar waits for no one, and the start of the official season is fast approaching for Baskonia, last season’s Copa del Rey champions.
Their next game comes on Friday against ALBA Berlin at the EncestaRías tournament in Pontevedra, one of the traditional fixtures on the Spanish preseason calendar. The Basque side will play another game 24 hours later, either against Valencia Basket or Monbus Obradoiro, the Galician club that has just been promoted to the Liga Endesa.
Faried could make his debut there, while Galbiati will be hoping to welcome back at least some of the players who missed the game in León, giving Kosner Bas%konia a chance to start looking like a competitive team with just one week remaining before the Endesa Super Cup.
One thing, then, seems increasingly clear: for all practical purposes, the market is not yet closed in Vitoria. Baskonia urgently need reinforcements in the paint, although in situations like this, rushing the process is rarely the best way to make the right choice.
That is the dilemma facing a Baskonia side determined not to repeat last season’s scenario, when they had to wait until their seventh EuroLeague game to pick up their first win.
