A week ago, Marc Gasol attended the retirement of his ’33’ jersey by the Grizzlies in Memphiswhere he accompanied his brother Pau to Tennessee at the age of 16 (he played at Lausanne Collegiate School) and where he ended up becoming a true icon.
In addition, along with the eldest Gasol (Lakers), he became the only pair of brothers from NBA history with their elastic retirement after also sharing the initial jump in an All-Star Game, another unusual fact.
Eight days later, the Catalan will change the FedEx Forum this Sunday for Fontajau, where the Bàsquet Girona team that he founded, presides over and where he hung up his shoes at the end of last year receives Barça (5:00 p.m.) with the aim of taking a giant step towards permanence.
Marc Gasol and Pau Gasol, two basketball legends / EFE
As always when he faces the Barça team, it is a special match between two of the four most important cities of his sporting career divided between Catalonia and the United States.
Born and raised in Barcelona and in the Barça youth team in which he played three seasons with Svetislav PesicJoan Montes and Ivanovic on the bench, Marc Gasol began to become a player in the defunct Akasvayu Girona first with Pesic with whom he met again and with whom he took several steps forward to finish with the best national coach, Pedro Martínez.
Memphis would be the fourth, since he spent 12 seasons there (2008-2019) to become an emblem of the NBA. Without a doubt, Marc Gasol’s fourth fetish city is Toronto, where he won the precious ring of the self-proclaimed best league in the world in 2019 (4-2 to Stephen Curry’s Warriors).
Criterion and character
Since he decided to lead the project, Marc Gasol has relied on the necessary patience and also on the ability to make decisionseven when the team was promoted in 2020 in a perhaps surprising way, anticipating the initial project on the track.
He was completely right in his debut in the Endesa League with Aíto García Reneses despite the fact that the promotion had been the work of Carles Marco and last summer he opted for Salva Camps, but chose to dismiss him on March 23 after the seventh consecutive defeat despite the fact that the balance was 7-12.
Fotis Katsikaris must seal the salvation of Basketball Girona / EFE
Básquet Girona opted for the Greek Fotis Katsikaris as a revulsive, who presents a 2-6. The fact is that the team has 10 victories and is three ahead of the second-to-last team; beating Barça would be almost definitive with five days left after today’s duel.
Barça ‘pre-season’?
After falling on ASVEL’s court (76-72) in an inconsequential match, Roger Grimau’s men already have their focus on the Euroleague quarterfinals against Olympiacos de Barztokas that will begin on 23-A.
Despite this, can’t sleep in the Endesa League. Four wins behind Madrid and Unicaja, Barça is only one ahead of Lenovo Tenerife and UCAM Murcia, who are waiting to jeopardize Barça’s home court advantage in the quarterfinals.
James Nnaji scored at a high level on the ASVEL / DANI BARBEITO court
Willy Hernangómez did not play in Gallic lands due to discomfort in the right knee. Will it still be reserved? The good news was that James Nnaji finished with nine points, nine rebounds and +17. Will the Nigerian center get another chance?
Three loans and a ‘premiere’
This Sunday’s game will be very important for the three Barcelona players on loan at Basketball Girona. The Argentine point guard ‘Juani’ Marcos is growing a lot in the elite after his long loan to Força Lleida (LEB Oro), Sergi Martínez arrived last summer and Michael Caicedo left at the end of February once he recovered from a fracture in the fifth metatarsal of the right foot.
Sergi Martínez before Willy Hernangómez, in the Palau / VALENTÍ ENRICH
Besides, American point guard Gabe York will make his debut for the local team (30 years old, 1.91 m) as an emergency signing to make up for the loss due to injury of his compatriot Kenny Chery, almost fresh from Badalona.
There was no time to lose. The new reinforcement comes from Ignite of the G-League and has experience in Europe at AEK Athens, Strasbourg and Hapoel Tel Aviv.
2024-04-13 21:17:48
#Basketball #Girona #Basketball #Barça #Marc #Gasols #golden #age
