Unicaja starts the second phase of the Basketball Champions League 23/24 this Wednesday. The greens will receive the visit of Turkish Tofas Bursa at the Martín Carpena Palace, starting at 8:30 p.m., on the first day of the second continental league.
The configuration of the composer squad this 2023/2024 season, with 8 North American players (Perry, Carter, Taylor, Kalinoski, Ejim, Thomas, Osetkowski and Kravish)forces Ibon Navarro to have to make each BCL match a discard, since in In the FIBA competition, it is mandatory that 5 of the 12 pieces be occupied by national players or players trained in Spanish basketball, so only 7 foreigners can enter each call. and the eighth has to stay out.
Ibon Navarro, during training. / Unicajab/Photopress-Mariano Pozo
Six days and 6 rotations in the first phase
After the dispute of the first phase There are only two players, Dylan Osetkowski and David Kravish, who have been present in the 6 games already played. The player with a German passport and the player with a Bulgarian passport have been the two “untouchables” of the Basque coach in the first part of the continental season.
What of Kravish It can be understood why he entered the season with cottons, after going through plantar fasciitis that left him out of the entire summer preparation phase. Kravish needed continuity and rhythm of play and his coach gave it to him in October, November and December to recover the best physical version of him.
Yes, something was more surprising than Osetkowski. Precisely, the absence of Kravish and Sima throughout the preseason, both injured, forced “Oseto” to overexert themselves in those first months of work and preparatory friendlies, including the Endesa Super Cup. Dylan was forced to play many minutes, but he did not suffer at any time and is the other player who did not rotate in any game in the first league.
Kravish and Osetkowski, after winning the Copa del Rey. / ACBPHOTO/M.POZO
First phase rotation list
Ibon Navarro’s list of rotations in the first continental phase were: Melvin Ejim (visit to Falco), Tyler Kalinoski (against Le Mans in Malaga), Tyon Carter (against Peristeri in Carpena), Will Thomas (trip to Le Mans), Kendrick Perry (against Falco at home) and Kameron Taylor (on the Peristeri field).
Unicaja, after training at the Palace. / UNICAJABFOTOPRESS/M.POZO
Osetkowski or Kravish time?
Starting Wednesday, Europe returns to the day-to-day life of Unicaja. It remains to be seen if Ibon Navarro will maintain his idea of rotating all of his players and now it is up to the two untouchables, Kravish or Osetkowski, or prefers to keep both in the “12” in all European calls. In that case, the “chosen one” this Wednesday to play against Tofas Bursa would be one of the 6 Americans who have already rested a game during this BCL 23/24. We will see…
2024-01-22 16:54:11
#BCL #Ibon #Navarros #rotations
