Movistar Estudiantes has a date with history this Sunday at 6:45 p.m.: the return to the Endesa League is played with the host and favourite, Marc Gasol’s Bàsquet Girona, who beat ICG Força Lleida in their semifinal by 68-77 .
The big doubt is precisely Marc, who retired injured in the second half of the game, when he had 11 points and 3 rebounds and his team dominated.
The Girona club, founded in 2014 by its current star player with the name of Club Escola Bàsquet Marc Gasol, has been climbing the steps little by little, and it is undeniable that the arrival of world champion and the NBA in November changed the face to Básquet Girona: it went from the middle/low area of the table to now fighting to climb.
But he not only changed the face of Bàsquet Girona for his individual contribution (he finished the regular league as the most valued player with 23.45 thanks to his 14.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game; and in the playoff he has not dropped performance: 14.6 points, 7 rebounds and 21.33 in the playoff).
Also because of how he made his teammates better… and facilitated the arrival of new high-level players for the category, such as Maxi Fjellerup (15.33 points per game in the playoffs and a PIR of 18 in the playoffs) o Txemi Urtasun, both decisive in the final stretch of the season.
The team that since November directs a local basketball classic as Jordi Sargatal It has many important pieces.
Inside it is clear who is the boss, a Marc who, in addition to having been the MVP of the LEB regular league and having been the top rebounder in the competition and the eighth scorer, makes it easier to play for the other insiders, such as Karamo Jawara the youth squad of Barça Jaume Sorolla and, above all, the place Eric Villa.
But on the outside there is a lot of level and scoring options: Albert Sabat, Josep Franch, the aforementioned Fjellerup and Urtasun or the Latvian Kaspars Vecvagars they are hovering around 8 points per head.
Out of curiosity, and to make sure no one gets confused, we will be able to relive the duel between the Urtasun brothers, who joined their current clubs after the season had started: Alex with Movistar Estudiantes; Txemi – with a brief collegiate past in 2007-08- with Bàsquet Girona.
1-1 in regular league
The precedents of this season can serve to get an idea of what we will see in the very final: the balance is 1-1. A student victory in Madrid, and shot to win but defeat in Fontajau.
Movistar Estudiantes won 88-80 at the WiZink Center in January, with Javier Beiran’s best game of the season (17 points and 14 rebounds for a PIR of 34), well supported by Edwin Jackson (17 points). Of course: Marc went out, 23 points, 12 rebounds and a PIR of 39!
And in the second leg, Bàsquet Girona took the cat to the water, a little over a month ago, by 70-68: Beiran had a shot to win, but the triple did not enter. Marc was once again the protagonist with 23 points and a PIR of 30; on a good day by Johnny Dee in scoring (17 points).
Fontajau, a well-known court
Although against this Bàsquet Girona these are the only precedents, this Final Four of LEB Oro is by no means the first visit to Girona, nor to the Fontajau Pavilion (which was inaugurated in 1993).
In addition to the visits in the Endesa Women’s League to Spar Girona; the boys from the Estu have visited Girona and ACB on a total of 20 occasions between 1989 and 2008 -when the old Club Bàsquet Girona went bankrupt, which we knew under the trade names of Valvi, Casademont, Gavis and Akasvayu- with a favorable balance of 7-13.
Also, in 2007 Fontajau hosted the FIBA Eurocup Final 4, in which the then MMT Students was 4th, after losing to the host, ultimately champion and shortly after dissolved due to debts, Akasvayu Girona. Virtus Bologna from Italy and Azvomash Mariupul from Ukraine were the other two participants in that final phase in which the true collegiate MVP was the fans.
