By Fede Ojeda

During Easter (3-6 April) took place in Södertäjle the Scania Cup, tournament that is called the unofficial Nordic Championship. Twelve teams with players born between 1996-1998 were present this Easter, Sweden with five teams was the country with more participants followed by Denmark with four, Finland two and Norway just with one.

These were the final position:

1- Baerum (Norway)

2- Lobas (Sweden)

3- BG Lulea (Sweden)

4- Virum (Denmark)

5- SBBK (Sweden)

6- EBAA (Denmark)

7- Malbas (Sweden)

8- PuHu (Finland)

9- SISU (Denmark)

10- Vaerlöse (Denmark)

11- ToPo (Finland)

12- Boras (Sweden).

The All-Star team was:

Guard - Anders Nymo (Baerum)
Guard - Jesper Wennerholm (Lobas)
Forward - Anton Kobylak-Berglund (BG Lulea)
Forward - Ludvig Swanström (SBBK)
Center - Johannes Dolven (Baerum)

Scania King: Johannes Dolven (Baerum) 

The most outstanding players of the tournament were:

Baerum

Johannes Dolven (’96) (Commited to Drake University), this Norwegian big man loves to hustle and fight close to the basket. He was unstoppable during the whole tournament, he scored from many different ways (post-ups, jump shots, offensive rebounds, P&R...) and was a “wall” on the defensive end, rebounding the ball and changing many shots and layups. He well deserved to be named in the All Star team and Scania King.The only thing that he could easily improve is his use of the left hand, he was not a threat going to that side so he could struggle playing just with his right hand against bigger, stronger and quicker men in the States.

Anders Nymo (’96) was one of the guards with more playing time in the team. He played the 1-2 position (switching with Harald Frey). He was mostly the creator and organizer of the team. Great transition game, he is fast and skilled so his team had a great pace whenever he was on the court. Good vision and mid-range shooting ability.
Due to his size and body (skinny PG), he was not able to finish hard going to the basket (better passer than finisher) or be more physical on ball-defense.

Harald Frey (’97) was the other guard with more minutes in the Norwegian team. This lefty combo-guard is a terrific shooter with a huge range (he hit few shots from 8-9 meters), great P&R game (to pass, finish with a drive or with a quick and accurate jump shot). Good understanding of the game playing without the ball, being in the right place in the right moment. His quickness helps him to play good defense on the ball and passing lanes.
Not big and strong enough to play the “2” in the next level, he should be a “1”.

Lobas

Jesper Wennerholm (’96) was the most important player in the Swedish team, through the hands of this quick, small and smart point guard passed all the game. Offensively he is a complete player, a lot of resources to finish and create. Defensively he is a decent player, his lack of physical tools were “hidden” thanks to his great IQ.

BG Lulea

Anton Kobylak-Berglund (’96) was the best shooter of the whole tournament by far. He is able to create shots by himself with good % or make shots from different situations as catch & shoot or staggered screens. He did not show to seem a great driver, but he has the physical condition to do it more often because whenever he took the decision good things happened. On the other end he has a quick lateral moves and strong legs, so he is good in 1*1 situations and rebounding the ball.

Denzel Andersson (’96) was the most important big man in the team. He is in between the “4” and “5” position, during the weekend he spent more time at the “5” because of team needs. After Dolven, he was the best big man in the tournament. As the Norwegian, he has many ways to score on offense, posting-up or facing the basket (even three point shooting range).
Rebounds were not counted in the tournament’s stats, but we could say that he was one of the top-rebounders as he was dominant crashing the boards as hard as he could every time (specially the offensive board).
His defensive game was based on his good speed and coordination. He was the one in charge of setting the tone, whenever he was not on the court the defense was not as good as with him.

Virum

Jesper Sandager (’96) was the top scorer of the tournament. He is a lefty player that can shoot from all over the court in many different ways. He is a good driver and finisher (especially to the left side). He had the biggest responsibility in his team to create and score during the games, so defensively he was not too active, trying just not to make too many mistakes.

Johannes Nielsen (’96) was the big man of this team. He did not stop during all the game (rather on offense and defense). On the offense end he was a finisher, without dribble or taking one-two maximum. Good mid-range game, shooting with great % and quick drives finishing above the rim.To be a big man he is fast so he was a great PR and passing lane defender. But he is a bit light, so he struggled some moments when he had to play defense on the other big men during semi-final and bronze medal games (Dolven and Anderson).

SBBK

Ludwig Swanström (’96) was a 3-4 man of the Swedish team. He showed a good catch-and-shoot skills with a long range. Strong driving to the basket in straight lines, having more problems whenever he needed to change direction. Great offensive rebounder and good body to finish hard close to the basket. Talking about his defensive strengths were not shown too often, SBBK did not play hard defense or too active, so he was average as his team. He is long so he helped rebounding the ball and covering much space.

Sheriff Drammeh (’96) was the point guard. Great athleticism (quick, long, skilled...). His way of playing was intriguing, any time he decided to increase the speed of the game his team played more fluid getting easy points in transition and open shots, being the passer or finisher. On the other hand, when the pace was slow he was most of the times a selfish player with not great attitude on the court. Offensively he is a complete player, as he can shoot, drive and pass in a great way. Defensively he was not too committed, only looking for the steal to lead the fast-break. He could have helped more, from the outside it looks like he is able to do more things on both ends of the court.

EBAA

Sylvester Berg (’98) was the 3-4 of this Danish basketball academy. At first view you can see that he has a strong body to play but undersized to be a four, so he should develop in a close future into a three man. He knows how to use this strong body posting-up his defenders or driving to the basket, he got many “and one” situations because of his strength that helped him to handle the contact in the air. He has three point shooting range, not too accurate but a fluid mechanic. He hustled and played hard most of the times, but others he just passed without even noticing that he was on the court.
Tough on defense, good legs to jump high which makes him able to grab many rebounds and block shots. He struggled in lateral moves against quicker players, problem that provoke foul trouble in some games.