With the hangover from the storm Emilia and the postponement of her duel with the Baskoniahe Dreamland Gran Canaria resumes the competition to finish the Basketball Champions League group stage (BCL). The yellows receive tomorrow at the Arena (7:00 p.m., Courtside 1891) al SL Benfica in a match of mere formality, with nothing at stake in terms of sport for the Gran Canarian team, beyond signing a full victory, since Jaka Lakovic's team did their homework in the previous days and whatever happens this afternoon, they have first place secured. Something else is at stake for the Lisbon team; if they win the match and win the match, they could finish third as long as Spartak wins their visit to Le Mans.
Tomorrow afternoon's clash should serve as a procedure to gain momentum facing a final stretch of the first round in which the Claretians want to show that they are not going to hand over the spoon without a fight and that they will try to speed up their options to qualify for the most expensive Copa del Rey in the last decade.
Granca arrives at the event rested after not being able to play last Saturday against Baskoniaalthough for qualifying purposes, even virtually, the Claretians have given up a place and fall to the fourteenth position in the tablewith two victories behind the eighth, Bilbao Basket, which puts extra pressure and uncertainty on them until the clash against the Vitorians can be played, which could be key in the future of both of them.
For his part, the Benfica lands on the island as undisputed leader of its domestic competitionwith seven wins in their seven games played, the last of them in their visit to Ovarense (70-96) and with two victories ahead of the second placed, Sporting de Portugal. The need to win, added to their positive inertia in the league, makes the Portuguese an uncomfortable rival for a Granca team that has little sporting advantage in winning the match, but for whom defeat can negatively affect their confidence ahead of the Endesa League.
The precedent
On October 7, Granca made its debut in the BCL and precisely did so against Benfica itself in Lisbon, in a match in which the Gran Canarians erased their rival from the court, giving them a 61-98 which was even kind to the Portuguese, since the yellows let themselves go in the second half after resolving the game in the first half.
The 12 players summoned by Jaka Lakovic to play the match managed to scorehighlighting Isaiah Wong, Anola Braian y When Kuath, with 16, 12 and 11 points respectively.
There are two Benfica players who exceed double digits in rating and who carry the offensive weight of the Portuguese on their backs. Geno Crandall He is the highest rated on the team with 15.6 credits (13.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3 assists); followed closely by Aaron Brussard with 11 credits (10 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists). In the scoring section he also stands out in the Lisbon squad Aleksander Dziewa with an average of 11.4 points per game. Besides, Justice Sueingwith five sacks he is the team's best rebounder.
