Betis Baloncesto: Fighting for a Spot in the Final Four

Three, two, one… It is not a countdown, but the games that may remain in this strange season for the Betis Baloncesto, which is played against Estudiantes in Madrid (20:00), wins the ticket for the Final Four for promotion from the LEB Oro. Getting here is already a success for a team that was considered dead in December and that knew how to believe in itself like no one else to the tune played by Joaquín Rodríguez, Polanco and Faggiano, but The success of this end of the course is not only theirs but a collective achievement of the entire locker roomwho locked himself in his particular bunker so that the problems outside, many and varied, would not affect them and reach this key date with faith and enthusiasm through the roof.

The collective, the team, the family, as they themselves define the group formed, is above everything. Because a youth player from Dos Hermanas has the same feeling as Pablo Marin that a Dominican born in the Bronx like Polanco; because a captain who has been wearing green and white for six seasons like Pablo Almazan just like a Uruguayan like Joaquin Rodriguez whose time in Seville, despite its ephemerality, has left its mark on the fans. And the green and white team is based on that pillar, capable of recovering if any of their key players are not successful, because There is always someone who steps forward to maintain the level of competitiveness and fight that has led him to force the fifth game of the series when in the capital of Spain they saw themselves organizing the Final Four.

The teams know each other. They have already faced each other four times in less than two weeks and they are not going to surprise their rival tactically or individually. On paper, Pedro Rivero has more pieces with Francis Alonso, Wintering, Dee, Larsen, Murphy, Ferrando, Leimanis, Caffaro…, but Betis Basketball is more of a team. Too often when an impossible pass is sought to continue sharing the ball, causing losses that give wings to the opponent. It is one of the situations to improve for the Heliopolitan team, which cannot give anything to Estudiantes more than what the local team can find due to playing at home with the support of its fans. Bruno Savignani’s team must play with that extra pressure from the schoolchildren, who were favorites in the tie and now they reach the fifth match with doubts and no margin for error. Quite the opposite of the Sevillian team, for which it was already a success to play the play off and he faced them without any fear, only with an illusion that has led him to this toss-up.

Estudiantes took 36 free throws more than Betis in the first two games of the series played in Madrid

The rebound will be another of the keys to the clash. Betis dominated him in the fourth match and from there he controlled and governed the entire match supported by an intense defense that must be repeated to the extent that the referees allow it. And this matter is not trivial, because it repeats in the referee trio the one who was the main referee in the first duel, in which a series of controversial decisions in favor of Estudiantes led to an even match.

And the last duel was the only one of these four in which Estudiantes finished with more fouls than Betis (22-25), but now In Madrid everything can change because in the first two matches the Beticos were whistled 53 personals compared to Estudiantes’ only 34. Hence a clear difference in free throws in the games played in Madrid: 48/63 for the schoolchildren and 23/27 for the Sevillians. This is a difference of 36 extra free throws taken by Estudiantes in the two games played in Madrid, a figure that extends to the entire series: 85/116 for Pedro Rivero’s team and 57/78 for Savignani’s team. Forcing the fifth game with 38 fewer free throws is of great merit.

That is why the Heliopolitan squad has adopted the motto of against everything and everyone and that the Betic coach talks about “a war” awaiting them. A war in which help to stop Larsen near the rim are essential, as well as the activity on the front line to minimize Wintering and the outside defense to prevent Dee, Leimanis or Francis Alonso from finding clear situations to shoot from three points. It costs more for Estudiantes when they can’t runso avoiding losses and clear counterattacks is essential for a Betis that knows how to move in tight scores and has even shown that they do not leave games with a disadvantage.

Everything is decided in a heads or tails, true, although no matter what happens no one will be able to say but to a team, from the first one on the court to the last assistant on the bench, who has left his soul for a shield and colors like They haven’t made their leaders all season. The pride of the fans is reflected in those hundreds of fans, bus from Seville included, who will support the team at WiZink because Betis Baloncesto has once again generated a feeling of pride among its followers that is well worth this effort. The team has earned it with its sweat and therefore it will be something to be proud of whether it wins or loses.

2024-05-30 08:56:42
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