The 17-year-old sensation shined as he secured his second MVP award at an ANGT event.
Hugo Gonzalez never doubted Real Madrid would win ANGT Podgorica
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Hugo Gonzalez never questioned whether U18 Real Madrid could come back and win the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Podgorica first-place game last Sunday afternoon. The star guard talent is wired like that and he learned too many lessons from his veteran leaders inside the Real first-team locker room.
Gonzalez had been saddled with 4 fouls late in the third quarter and found himself sitting on the bench with Real down by 13 points to the U18 Next Generation Team Podgorica. The 17-year-old came back in the game with 7 minutes left and Real still down by 6 points, but having shifted momentum.
Gonzalez scored 8 of his 16 points down the stretch – as well as dishing 2 assists – to help Real fight off the select team and win an ANGT qualifying tournament for the 11th straight season.
“It was a really tough game. They play how we are not used to. They run the court unlike anybody in this tournament. They knew our weaknesses, but we played well. We played with a good mentality,” said Gonzalez who ended up winning the Most Valuable Player honor for his outstanding showing all tournament.
“He’s amazing, and I am not talking about the player – I am talking about the person. One of the best things that basketball has given me in my life is the opportunity to coach Hugo,” Real coach Javier Juarez commented after Sunday’s nailbiter. “He has a winner’s mentality.”
Putting together an impressive resumé
Gonzalez took home his second MVP distinction after he was named the top player of the ANGT Munich last season. During the ANGT Podgorica, he averaged 13.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.5 steals for a 17.5 PIR. He ranked 10th in scoring, seventh in PIR, tied for eighth in assists, came second in steals and was seventh in fouls drawn at 4.5.
Since winning the ANGT Munich MVP award, Gonzalez averaged 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 3.3 steals and 1.8 blocks at the ANGT Finals in Kaunas, where Real won its fourth U18 continental crown (2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023). Over the summer, he also helped Spain take second place at the 2023 FIBA U18 European Championship.
This season, he has practiced exclusively with Real’s senior team. Gonzalez has already appeared in four EuroLeague games in the 2023-24 campaign and picked up 4 points and 1 assist over 16 combined minutes. He has played in 10 Spanish League games, too, averaging 3.0 points and 0.8 rebounds in 6 minutes.
That time spent with a veteran-laden Real squad has really helped Gonzalez excel in his development. And that carried over to the ANGT Podgorica, as he said the competitiveness of the Real pro team is what helped him the most in the Montenegrin capital.
“Don’t put your head down when you are down 10, down 12. Maybe you have 4 fouls and you think that the game is already over, but the club we represent says you cannot get down at any point until the 40 minutes are over. We took that to another level and we showed that today. We can be really proud of what we did today,” said Gonzalez.
Playing and training with his idols
The Madrid native noted he has valued playing alongside and learning from an idol he had both during his childhood and the present day: Rudy Fernandez.
“I’m trying to play like him and have his mentality, too,” added Gonzalez.
But he also mentioned taking things from Fabien Causeur, Sergio Llull and Mario Hezonja.
“I have the best teachers to help me,” explained the young talent. “They have some of the biggest experience that any player can dream about. It’s great training with and against them every day and trying to learn from them. All of them are excellent professionals and maybe it’s not easy to accept a junior like they do. And they are helping me a lot.”
Eyeing back-to-back titles
Gonzalez and the U18 team are not satisfied with what they have accomplished by winning the ANGT Podgorica. They want to become the first team to win back-to-back titles in consecutive years since U18 FMP Belgrade in 2008 and 2009. Real won two straight ANGT crowns but those came in 2019 and 2021, with the 2020 ANGT Finals being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have to keep our good attitude because we are the champions and we have to defend our title. This is our generation’s last year and it will be very competitive,” stated Gonzalez. “Berlin will be even more competitive with the best teams in all of Europe and you have to take this mentality to a whole other level.”
Gonzalez is already an ANGT champion, but he won last season’s trophy as the youngster of the team. Now he wants to win the title with his own 2006-born group.
“Last year was our first chance of playing and the older generation had incredible players like Jan Vide, Szymon Nowicki and Abel Delicado. But this year we have even more motivation because we have to defend a championship that we won last year with a lot of struggling along the way. We have even more motivation,” he said.
That winner’s mentality and the lessons he has learned from Rudy Fernandez and others left no doubt in Hugo Gonzalez’s mind that Real would not take home the ANGT Podgorica trophy.