It has turned Buesa Arena into a fortress once again
Baskonia showing green shoots heading into next season
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 33 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz came into Round 33 knowing that it has zero chance of reaching the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague postseason, but coach Pablo Laso is already laying the groundwork for a bounce-back campaign next year.
The Baskonia players put on a show for the fans inside Buesa Arena on Friday night, romping away to a dominant 36-point win (111-75) over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. That margin of victory is tied for the fourth highest in club history.
What the triumph also meant was a sixth straight win at home. Baskonia started this run with impressive victories over Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (91-77) and FC Barcelona (88-86) before downing Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (89-82) and Zalgiris Kaunas (66-65). Before downing ASVEL, its previous home game was another high-scoring affair as Baskonia poured in a season-high 112 points in a 112-89 win over playoff-chasing FC Bayern Munich.
One sign of a Baskonia team that is functioning well is how it performs at Buesa Arena, but things were not going the way of Coach Laso's squad earlier in the season. Amazingly, you have to go all the way back to Round 10, 11 home games ago, to find a time that Baskonia lost by more than one possession. So maybe this is just the law of averages.
Still, the Spanish play-caller was appointed by Baskonia in late June, at which point many players on the roster had already been signed or it was clear that they would not be moving. In that sense, Coach Laso has had to learn how to get the best out of his players... and the last two home wins over Bayern and ASVEL show that progress has been made on that end.
Heading into an important summer for Baskonia, it has everyone under contract apart from Chima Moneke, Luka Samanic (he has an option for next year), Sander Raieste and Ognjen Jaramaz. Retaining Moneke, in particular, will be priority number one for the Baskonia front office, but the good news is that Coach Laso has a much better feel for the roster than he did when he first arrived.
What has become clear is how important it is to have a fit and healthy Markus Howard, particularly when he's on fire like he was against ASVEL with 25 points. The same could be said about captain Tadas Sedekerskis, whose team-first approach and calmness make Baskonia a better team.
A pleasant surprise has to be the emergence of Trent Forrest into a reliable EuroLeague guard, posting 13 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in Round 33. Khalifa Diop is reminding fans why he was the BKT EuroCup Rising Star as well, recording a career-high 3 blocks in the triumph over ASVEL. Nikos Rogkavopoulos and Donta Hall, when both are locked in, are two important weapons for Baskonia, too.
A fourth season from five without postseason basketball is hardly what Baskonia fans would have wanted before the 2024-25 campaign started, but the team has shown green shoots of late and that has to be a positive for Coach Laso.