It has seemed like an eternity, but it has only been 95 days since Jasikevicius's Barça struck a bell and swept Real Madrid in the Endesa League final to regain the throne. It has been three months of pure frenzy, with the World Cup in the middle and the restructuring of many squads. Starting with the champion. Neither the coach nor the two players who lifted the trophy remain from that magical night at WiZink: Mirotic and Higgins. But he hasn't been the only one. In Bàsquet Girona, for example, there are up to nine new faces, also including the coach. A dynamic that has escaped the champion's main challenger, Real Madrid, which has opted for the continuity of the European champion squad with the fearsome icing on the cake of Campazzo. Regarding the four Catalan teams that remain in the Endesa League this season, these have been the main novelties.
The brilliant victory in the last final of the Endesa League did not prevent a small revolution from taking place in the Palau. The reduction of a quarter of the budget imposed by Laporta forced the basketball leadership to take a turn that began with the bench. The surprising goodbye of Jasikevicius was joined by the commitment to Roger Grimau, a local coach with a very powerful emotional asset in his favor, he was the captain of the last Euroleague won by the club. This change was accompanied by an undisguised commitment to national basketball with the arrivals of Brizuela, Parra and Willy Hernangómez, one of the great assets. Like Jabari Parker, a number two in the draft with injury problems.
La Penya begins the course with a tight budget, but with high expectations. That's what it takes to have completed a great season. Semi-finalist in the three major competitions it competed in (League, Cup and Eurocup), Carles Duran's team will not be required to go to heaven, but they will continue to fight for everything, as has become the usual norm since the coach's arrival. . Joventut will have to reinvent itself again, which will have to deal with the departures of Kyle Guy and Joel Parra, two of the team's mainstays. On paper, he has more than done his homework by signing Deshaun Thomas, Andrew Andrews and Chinano Onuaku, three players who should help the team grow. And we must not forget Jordi Fernández, under-19 world champion who must gain prominence.
While in the offices Albert Cots continues to hope to find a replacement to sit in the president's chair, on the hardwood the Bages team has experienced one of the calmest summers in memory. Just three new faces (Williams, Taylor and temporary Zohore) so that coach Pedro Martínez can give a little continuity to his team. Without the physical and mental burden of playing in Europe, permanence must be one step closer for the eternal Manresa.
The second consecutive season in the elite for those from Girona presents itself as quite a challenge. With president Marc Gasol still plucking the leaves of retirement, the squad has undergone eight changes and will have a new conductor: Salva Camps, Pedro Martínez's assistant last year in Manresa. Of the new faces, two from the Palau stand out, such as Sergi Martínez and Juani Marcos, one of the promises of the Blaugrana youth team.
