By Albert Juncà
The Italian city of Bologna will host the third stop of the ANGE tournament from March 13th to March 15th. At this stage we will be able to see teams such as Dolomiti Energia Trento, FC Barcelona, FC Bayern Munich, Baskonia, Next Gen Team, Panathinaikos, Paris Basketball and Virtus Bologna.
Our Director of Scouting, Albert Juncà, will attend the event in Bologna and in this article he highlights some of the main stories to follow, based on the teams and players participating in this stage.
Two “Copa del Rey” champs landing in Bologna
After finishing as runners-up at the Ciutat de L’Hospitalet Tournament last December, Baskonia travels to Bologna with the mission of showing its consistency and looking to qualify for the final stage in Athens.
Two of the players listed on the tournament roster are Stefan Joksimovic and Juom Maker Bol. Both had limited minutes in the last edition of the Spanish Cup in Valencia, where the Basque team defeated Madrid in the final.
Joksimovic, after an impressive U18 European Championship with Slovenia, is earning a spot in the professional team’s rotation. He has already played 8 ACB games, averaging 9.5 minutes per game, and 10 EuroLeague games with 3 starts, averaging 5.3 minutes per game. The No. 1 player in our 2008 generation ranking can play both guard positions and impact the game on and off the ball. When operating with the ball, he controls the pace extremely well, relying on his body usage, long strides and high-level reads to create advantages in multiple situations.
These prospects, together with Georgian guard Mate Khatiashvili and Spanish big Chiek Tidiane Diallo, give their team a very high floor to compete in multiple schemes, as we saw last December in L’Hospitalet.
FC Barcelona 2009-born core ready to shine
Barcelona will make its ANGT debut this weekend in Bologna with its well-known 2009-born core: Joaquim Boumtje-Boumtje, Nikola Kusturica, Abdrahamane Kone and Jakob Siftar, together with the promising 2010-born prospect Jan Cerdan and the always impressive 2011-born Mohamed Dabone.
With this multigenerational and very young roster, the Catalan team will try to show why they are currently leading the Spanish U22 League with an U18 team and a 7–0 record in this second round.
Over the last month, Kusturica and Sayon Keita have been gaining minutes in the ACB due to injuries in the professional team. The Serbian forward has appeared in the last three ACB games against Girona, Manresa and Breogán, setting a career high of 11 points and 2 rebounds in 15:51 minutes against Manresa. His competitiveness and positional awareness on and off the ball make him a useful player for Barça, a team that demands defensive discipline and players capable of bringing energy and versatility on offense. As for Keita, he already had sporadic appearances in the ACB and EuroLeague last season. He brings energy and mobility on both ends for the Catalan powerhouse.
The overall talent of the U18 roster, mixed with the professional experience that some of the players are already gaining, will be an important weapon in this European scenario, where every team arrives with extra motivation to show its potential. This stage will also be a chance for Barça to prove they are improving their consistency after not reaching the final in the L’Hospitalet tournament.
Next Gen Team: names to watch in Bologna
At this stage, the Next Generation selected team presents some interesting names, giving players who are not part of a EuroLeague team the opportunity to compete in a different context. This is also useful for scouts to evaluate these players in a different environment and see how they adapt.
In the roster we can find Ronny Ewanke, who is enrolled with the Varese Academy. The Cameroonian big was one of the most intriguing prospects at the last U19 World Cup in Lausanne (Switzerland), where he showed flashes of good shooting mechanics from deep and interesting mobility playing face-up for his size.
Another interesting name is Diego Niebla from Joventut Badalona. With the departure of Sam Dekker, the Spanish forward had the chance to make his professional debut in the ACB League on February 8th against Valencia. Being part of the Next Gen team, we will have the opportunity to watch Niebla in a different context compared to what we have seen with the Spanish national team or as one of the main players in Joventut Badalona’s rotation.
Another name who made his professional debut and is getting minutes mainly in the FIBA Europe Cup with Zaragoza is the Dutch/Serbian wing Matija Lukic. His frame and size, mixed with his mobility and skillset when operating with the ball, make him an interesting prospect to keep an eye on.
Two other interesting names on this selected team are Igor Stjepanovic and Ricards Aizpurs, both playing for Italian teams. Back in January, Stjepanovic displayed an incredible scoring ability with Udine in the LBA Next Gen, averaging 25.6 points, 5.6 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 47.9% from deep.
As for Aizpurs, he comes from an intense February, first playing multiple games in the U.S. with The Star Alliance against several prep schools, averaging 26.7 points and 5.3 rebounds, and later participating in the Basketball Without Borders All-Star event in Los Angeles.
Italian flashes in Bologna
Dolomiti Energia Trento and Virtus Bologna will represent Italian basketball at this third stage after the participation of Olimpia Milano in the first stage in Ulm.
In this tournament, Trento has added to the roster one of the most intriguing prospects in Italian basketball right now, Cheickh Niang. The Senegalese/Italian wing will be one of the pillars of his team, using his above-average explosiveness and motor to gain advantages when driving to the paint. He is already part of the professional team, playing in Serie A and the EuroCup, averaging 13 minutes per game.
Another name in Virtus’ roster will be Simone Ventura, who is on loan from Pallacanestro Cantù. The Italian forward had solid performances last summer at the U16 European Championship and in the LBA Next Gen tournament, where he stood out as one of the main players on his team, being aggressive attacking the paint and slashing to the rim in multiple ways. Now with Virtus we will see what role he gets and how he can help the hosts compete during the weekend.
The Italian city of Bologna will host the third stop of the ANGE tournament from March 13th to March 15th. At this stage we will be able to see teams such as Dolomiti Energia Trento, FC Barcelona, FC Bayern Munich, Baskonia, Next Gen Team, Panathinaikos, Paris Basketball and Virtus Bologna.
Our Director of Scouting, Albert Juncà, will attend the event in Bologna and in this article he highlights some of the main stories to follow, based on the teams and players participating in this stage.
Two “Copa del Rey” champs landing in Bologna
After finishing as runners-up at the Ciutat de L’Hospitalet Tournament last December, Baskonia travels to Bologna with the mission of showing its consistency and looking to qualify for the final stage in Athens.
Two of the players listed on the tournament roster are Stefan Joksimovic and Juom Maker Bol. Both had limited minutes in the last edition of the Spanish Cup in Valencia, where the Basque team defeated Madrid in the final.
Joksimovic, after an impressive U18 European Championship with Slovenia, is earning a spot in the professional team’s rotation. He has already played 8 ACB games, averaging 9.5 minutes per game, and 10 EuroLeague games with 3 starts, averaging 5.3 minutes per game. The No. 1 player in our 2008 generation ranking can play both guard positions and impact the game on and off the ball. When operating with the ball, he controls the pace extremely well, relying on his body usage, long strides and high-level reads to create advantages in multiple situations.
These prospects, together with Georgian guard Mate Khatiashvili and Spanish big Chiek Tidiane Diallo, give their team a very high floor to compete in multiple schemes, as we saw last December in L’Hospitalet.
FC Barcelona 2009-born core ready to shine
Barcelona will make its ANGT debut this weekend in Bologna with its well-known 2009-born core: Joaquim Boumtje-Boumtje, Nikola Kusturica, Abdrahamane Kone and Jakob Siftar, together with the promising 2010-born prospect Jan Cerdan and the always impressive 2011-born Mohamed Dabone.
With this multigenerational and very young roster, the Catalan team will try to show why they are currently leading the Spanish U22 League with an U18 team and a 7–0 record in this second round.
Over the last month, Kusturica and Sayon Keita have been gaining minutes in the ACB due to injuries in the professional team. The Serbian forward has appeared in the last three ACB games against Girona, Manresa and Breogán, setting a career high of 11 points and 2 rebounds in 15:51 minutes against Manresa. His competitiveness and positional awareness on and off the ball make him a useful player for Barça, a team that demands defensive discipline and players capable of bringing energy and versatility on offense. As for Keita, he already had sporadic appearances in the ACB and EuroLeague last season. He brings energy and mobility on both ends for the Catalan powerhouse.
The overall talent of the U18 roster, mixed with the professional experience that some of the players are already gaining, will be an important weapon in this European scenario, where every team arrives with extra motivation to show its potential. This stage will also be a chance for Barça to prove they are improving their consistency after not reaching the final in the L’Hospitalet tournament.
Next Gen Team: names to watch in Bologna
At this stage, the Next Generation selected team presents some interesting names, giving players who are not part of a EuroLeague team the opportunity to compete in a different context. This is also useful for scouts to evaluate these players in a different environment and see how they adapt.
In the roster we can find Ronny Ewanke, who is enrolled with the Varese Academy. The Cameroonian big was one of the most intriguing prospects at the last U19 World Cup in Lausanne (Switzerland), where he showed flashes of good shooting mechanics from deep and interesting mobility playing face-up for his size.
Another interesting name is Diego Niebla from Joventut Badalona. With the departure of Sam Dekker, the Spanish forward had the chance to make his professional debut in the ACB League on February 8th against Valencia. Being part of the Next Gen team, we will have the opportunity to watch Niebla in a different context compared to what we have seen with the Spanish national team or as one of the main players in Joventut Badalona’s rotation.
Another name who made his professional debut and is getting minutes mainly in the FIBA Europe Cup with Zaragoza is the Dutch/Serbian wing Matija Lukic. His frame and size, mixed with his mobility and skillset when operating with the ball, make him an interesting prospect to keep an eye on.
Two other interesting names on this selected team are Igor Stjepanovic and Ricards Aizpurs, both playing for Italian teams. Back in January, Stjepanovic displayed an incredible scoring ability with Udine in the LBA Next Gen, averaging 25.6 points, 5.6 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 47.9% from deep.
As for Aizpurs, he comes from an intense February, first playing multiple games in the U.S. with The Star Alliance against several prep schools, averaging 26.7 points and 5.3 rebounds, and later participating in the Basketball Without Borders All-Star event in Los Angeles.
Italian flashes in Bologna
Dolomiti Energia Trento and Virtus Bologna will represent Italian basketball at this third stage after the participation of Olimpia Milano in the first stage in Ulm.
In this tournament, Trento has added to the roster one of the most intriguing prospects in Italian basketball right now, Cheickh Niang. The Senegalese/Italian wing will be one of the pillars of his team, using his above-average explosiveness and motor to gain advantages when driving to the paint. He is already part of the professional team, playing in Serie A and the EuroCup, averaging 13 minutes per game.
Another name in Virtus’ roster will be Simone Ventura, who is on loan from Pallacanestro Cantù. The Italian forward had solid performances last summer at the U16 European Championship and in the LBA Next Gen tournament, where he stood out as one of the main players on his team, being aggressive attacking the paint and slashing to the rim in multiple ways. Now with Virtus we will see what role he gets and how he can help the hosts compete during the weekend.
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