Mohamed Dabone is the worst kept secret in youth basketball in Spain. A phenomenon who is not yet 13 years old (he was born in October 2011), he is 2.08 meters tall and is a total player who breaks molds to such an extent that he has been included by Barcelona in the team that is playing, in Berlin, the final phase of the Junior Euroleague, the Adidas NGT. A title that the Blaugrana have not won since 2016 and for which they are surely the great favorite, with a tremendous team that a few weeks ago devastated Real Madrid in the final of the Spanish Junior Championship (79-53).
In Berlin, that tremendous Barcelona only needed one game to make it clear that it has arrived to fight for the title, and that it is surely the rival to beat with the permission of a Real Madrid that defends its crown and that also offered a great image in its first match, against Armani Milan in the morning session. The two close the first day with victory, Madrid in Group A and Barça in Group B. They have to play two more games and only the leader of each group accesses, directly, the grand final on Sunday. Which, from what we see today, could very well be a Classic.
In its debut, the Barça team overwhelmed Alba Berlin, the host (118-46). A total display from the first quarter (31-12) in which Dabone had a game to rub his eyes: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 26 PIR. In just 12 minutes and at 12 years old, against players who are six years older than him.
Dabone was born in Burkina Faso and Barcelona signed him last summer. In November he was already MVP of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation tournament. In a U-15 tournament, which in theory should be too big for him. He also already has the MVP of the Spanish Cadet championship of regional teams. He played with Catalonia and was the best even though he was still pre-infantile. And then he lived his most media moment in the Mini Cup, where he was MVP with some overwhelming numbers despite the fact that he played, again, younger (one year, in this case) than the allowed limit.
But this Barça is much more than Dabone, of course. Lithuanian guard Kasparas Jakucionis broke the record for assists in the tournament (17) and also contributed 7 points and 3 rebounds (28 PIR). This is another of the jewels of the Barça youth team, a game generator that Barça already has for the first team for next season and that in the final of the Spanish Junior Championship he added, against Real Madrid, 26 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
Jakucionis (28) and Dabone (26) were two of the four Barça players who scored at least 25 in PIR: Sayon Keita finished with 25 (19 points and 8 rebounds) and Abdrahamane Kone finished with 37 in an exceptional performance (20 points , 9 rebounds, 7/8 in field goals). Barcelona showed why they arrived in Berlin as favorites and tomorrow they will have another test, in this case against the Overtime Elite, which represents the American youth team for the first time in this event.
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2024-05-23 14:48:54
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