The Joventut de Badalona does not rule out making an incorporation to cover the losses accumulated in recent weeks and which mainly affect the perimeter. To the base Arturs Zagars, with recurrent problems in the abductors, has joined that of Pau Ribas, who will have to be out for four weeks due to a fibrillar tear in the hamstrings, suffered in the game against San Pablo Burgos.
The club is not pursuing an urgent incorporation but it is attentive to the market and a one-month contract could be proposed, “if the opportunity arises,” according to sources from the entity consulted.
To the aforementioned casualties we must also add the slow progression of Shawn dawson, who has been able to play in recent games but still lacks rhythm after spending the last two seasons in the dry dock and suffering from this discomfort in one knee.
“The team can be strengthened but it doesn’t depend on me. The injuries are doing a lot of damage, “said the coach. Carles duran after the victory achieved by the Badaloneses against JL Bourg, in the last regular phase match of Eurocup, played on Wednesday at the Olímpic.
Rivals defined in the Top-16
After beating the French by 90-75, in a game that had been postponed due to infections, the green and black finished first in group A with 8-2 and defined their route in the Top-16, where they will have to face each other in group E a Unicaja, AS Monaco Y Nanterre 92.
The Malaga team, which finished second in group B with 7-3, will be the first rival in this phase, in the Martin Carpena next January 13. Luis Casimiro’s men have finished as the second team with the most points scored per game in the competition, although showing irregularity due to multiple injuries, which have affected Alberto Díaz and Carlos Suárez in recent weeks. They will play at the Olímpic on March 2.
The AS Monaco finished third in group C with 6 victories and boasts of being the second team that has conceded the fewest points in this phase of the competition. Players with experience in the Euroleague such as Dee Bost or Mathias Lesort are its main pillars. The first match against Penya will be played in Badalona on January 26 and the second in the principality a week later, on February 2.
Finally, the Nanterre, as fourth in group D with 4-6, presents a highly compensated team in all its lines and with a lot of distribution of responsibility and minutes. Although he has not done in a testimonial way, the young Victor Wembanyama has already made his debut in the team, a 2.18-tall and 16-year-old outsider who is being closely followed by scouts from all over the world. In Badalona he will play on January 20 and Joventut will visit him on March 9 in the clash that will close this phase.
The first two classified will access the quarterfinals of the competition.