By Juan Cobos
Eurohopes attended the miniderby between Estudiantes and Real Madrid in the EBA league (4th division). Real Madrid beat Estudiantes 55-68 and now waits for the last game of the regular season before the promotion play-offs start. A few prospects were on court. For Estudiantes, top promising players Jaime Fernández (’93) -at the pic- and Lucas Riva (’92) did not have one of their best nights. Despite being erratic with his shot, Points-guard Fernández kept showing how much he has improved through the season playing with the 1st team at ACB level. Always considered a scorer, he looked natural running the point. Not having his best performance, he was still a big concern for his defenders with his quickness and ball handling skills. Meanwhile center Riva was out of the game since he first entered the court. Probably affected by his trip to Portland last week for the Nike Hoop Summit, he wasn’t involved at all during the whole first half. Anyway, his physical tools appeared during the 3rd quarter when he blocked a lay up by Alberto Jodar ('91) and seconds later finished a spectacular alley-hoop with a two-hand dunk.
Estudiantes never left the game in spite of having been trailing since the beginning of the 2nd quarter (15-14 at the end of the 1st) until Jodar scored three consecutive three pointers in the 4th quarter. Jodar, who battled injuries for two years, was once considered a top European prospect within his group age. A 6’9’’ SF, he finished the night with 13 points and 4 out of 5 from the three point line. Real Madrid’s coach, Alberto Angulo, had to deal with the physical problems his starting PG Jorge Sanz (’93) had during the first quarter, and his strategy of going big proved him right. With the help of two physical matured non-prospect players like Franco and Marina, he completed his five with the already mentioned Jodar, senegalese 6'9'' PF/C Mansour Kasse (’92) and 6'11'' center Víctor Arteaga (’92). Arteaga completed a nice game, scoring at the low post with his right-arm hook, running the floor as a forward, intimidating and rebounding. Kasse was superb. A force in the paint, he collected 11 rebounds and blocked the rivals 4 times while scoring 16 points. Many of those 16 points came from mid-range jumpers. Quite a performance for him.
Players of the day for Estudiantes were Francisco Guerra ('92) and Eduardo Martínez ('90). Guerra was effective shooting jumpers and playing in the paint finishing with 14 points and 12 boards. He’s got size and room for improvement. Anyway, he struggled on defense when matched with a much more athletic Kasse. Small-forward Martínez (6’7), a former Barcelona youth teams product who was a regular in the Spanish youth teams from 2008 to 2010, again showed his sharpshooting skills. With deep range and a quick release, he was not afraid of attacking the basket either.
To finished the review, a couple of Real Madrid prospects. Chema Gil ('91) didn’t shine but with his size and athleticism is an interesting player still in development whereas 6'8'' small-forward Dani Díez (’93) enjoyed a few minutes, knocking down a three and looking comfortable at the 3 spot (he started his transition to that position with his transfer to Real Madrid last season after years of being an inside player in Estudiantes).
Spanish U-18 NT head coach Juan Antonio Orenga attended the game.
Photo: ACB Photo / Mikel Picabea
