The Betis Basketball 2022-23 starts. And again in the Endesa League, after a spectacular final sprint last season with which he sealed his permanence by winning five of the last six games, a series that raised six wins in the last seven days also taking the victory in Bilbao in the inconsequential and, for their interests, the last league game.
The miracle occurred with the change of cards that was done during the championship, which changed the face of a group that Luis Casimiro ended up becoming a team. And with that base the Verdiblanco team starts this new course, finally aware that keep the block and don’t make 10 transfers new is the basis of success.
Six renewals plus Pepe Pozas, with a valid contract, continue in this new year under the command of Luis Casimiro: the captain Pablo Almazan, Dairis Bertans and Shannon Evanswho were there since the beginning of last season, in addition to BJ Johnson, Baez and Cvetkovicreinforcements that arrived throughout the season and that were vital in achieving the goal, each with their roles on and off the pitch.
“It is to be satisfied with the renewals and new hires”
That seven players follow from one year to the next is something that It hadn’t happened in Sevillian basketball since the start of the 2005-06 campaign. That San Fernando Box that began with Javier Fijo on the bench – he would be relieved by Manel Comas – kept from the course prior to Cazorla, Darren Phillips, Carlos Cherry, Raúl Pérez, Cipruss, Slanina and Lou Roe.
The best Cajasol of the last decade came close to that figure keeping six players from one season to another 2010-11 (Triguero, Cabanas, Sastre, Satoransky, Calloway and Kirsay); on the 2011-12 (Satoransky, Sastre, Triguero, Urtasun, Calloway and Paul Davis) and in the 2013-14the last time in the capital of Seville there was a play off of the ACB (Satoransky, Sastre, Balvin, Burjanadze, Porzingis and Latavious Williams), with the base of players trained in the quarry.
Like Betis, the limit has always been that they repeat four piecesboth in the 2019-20 (Borg, Pablo Almazán, Malmanis and Obi) as in the 2020-21 (Borg, Pablo Almazán, Niang and Obi).
Maintaining that block of seven players this course takes on more relevance, taking into account that for the Verdiblanco club, since 2016-17, when its name changes, 86 players have already passed (not counting homegrown players with testimonial minutes) hoping that this exercise will finally be the consolidation of the team in the highest category.
“We have gone little by little, getting players who at first were easier to renew. Later, our patience and waiting for the opportunity at the right time made it possible for us to keep Shannon Evans with us again,” he said. Louis Casimir in the official media, in which he analyzed the work carried out: “It is to be satisfied with the renewal of a lot of the nucleus of the squad from last season and with the new hires that we are making.. It is to be happy, at the expense of closing the squad yet”, indicated the Betis coach, referring to the end of Rodions Kurucs (it will be 87), the power forward who will close the template and whose signing, already closed, is at the expense of being officially announced by the club.
Since Betis took over basketball, 86 players have already passed through the section
“During this summer we must recognize the work of the entire board and Berdi Pérezas well as the involvement of Betis in the basketball project, something that must be recognized” added Casimiro.
After passing the medical examinations between Thursday and Friday, Betis Baloncesto gets underway in the preseason with the absence of internationals Gerun, Dairis Bertans and Sylla, in addition to Kurucs, as well as Cvetkovic, with permission from the club to join later. The first warm-up friendlies will arrive on September 3 and 4against Benfica first and against the loser Sporting de Portugal-Unicaja later.
