Spar Girona will have almost no time to rest before starting 2022 with many goals to achieve and a calendar full of commitments, but with the good news of being able to recover cash and thus have the entire staff to face the new year.
After the comfortable victory on the court of Baxi Ferrerol (64-94) last Tuesday, in what was the last trip of the first round of the League, the Girona girls complete this morning the last training session of the year and will have only two days to rest, regain strength and say goodbye to a year 2021, which among other things, has allowed them to finish at the top of the Euroleague Group B standings – in second place , below Fenerbahçe- and with the direct ticket to revalidate the title of the Queen’s Cup, with the victory against Estudiantes on 11 December.
It will not be until Sunday, January 2, after the break to eat the grapes, that those of Alfred Julbe will start engines again, with a morning training day. No time to bathe. And they will do so with the focus already on the first game of the year, in the League, on January 4 (7.30pm), in Fontajau and against Durán Ensino, at the bottom of the standings.
From here, Girona will kick off a month of January loaded with a total of 8 games, 5 of the League -including the visit to the Valencia Basket court on January 15- and 3 more of the Euroleague, however, with only one trip, in Turkey, on the Galatasaray track. They will also have a first week of margin and it will not be until January 12 that they will play the first match of the year in European competition, against Dynamo Kursk.
One of the incentives of this 2022 is that the key is expected to leave behind the headaches caused by dragging a short staff for much of the course, marked by injuries, and start the year with more players and the possibility to make more rotations. In fact, in the last game against Ferrol, Spar Girona was marked by casualties, especially on the outside line, and could have only 8 players available.
One of the most anticipated additions for the new start of the year is that of Magali Mendy, who was already scheduled to make her debut before closing this 2021 on Tuesday, but was forced to watch the match from the bench due to a delay in the transfer. Now everything is ready and will be an important reinforcement for the rotation of the exteriors, which should be seen in the debut of 2022. To this external reinforcement will also be added Binta Drammeh, who rested in the last game for caution. And the return of Frida Eldebrink, who is also scheduled for January after suffering a sunstroke injury to her left leg in early December, is joined by another good and long-awaited piece of news; the reappearance of Maria Araújo. The Galician center-back suffered a serious injury to his right knee with damage to multiple structures last spring, which forced him to undergo surgery, and after 9 months off the track, he could compete again this January. if all goes as planned.
So, once the pieces have been recovered, Uni is still in this new year with clear objectives: to stay in the golden trident that they form together with Perfumerías Avenida and Valencia Bàsqueten in the dispute for the leadership of the Endesa Women’s League; play a good role in European competition, repeating last year’s historic Euroleague quarterfinals or even going one step further; and revalidate the seal of champions of the Queen’s Cup that they already achieved last year.
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