The high mountains begin in Madrid

The schoolchildren face their fourth consecutive campaign in the former LEB Oro and with the same objective as the previous three: abandon it, heading to the Endesa League, in the month of May. Its hierarchy as a club and proven track record make him the strongest contender for promotion and an a priori fearsome rival, especially when he plays at home, as the green and white team confirmed firsthand last season and also in the preseason. The last five games of Betis Basketball at home on the school fields (Magariños and WiZink Center) have ended with defeats: one in the regular phase, three in the play off and another, the most recent, in a preparatory friendly in September.

The precedents, obviously, do not favor him, but abusing two commonplaces, it is worth remembering that statistics are there to break and that one does not live from the past. This Sunday will be another different story, although surely cut by the pattern of maximum difficulty and high intensity as recurring factors typical of this type of duels between equals with identical goals.

Because Betis, which was formed at the expense of the club’s checkbook Hereda Groupwants exactly the same as Estudiantes: one of the two slices of the promotion cake. And if it can be the first to be cut so as not to suffer wear and tear and the unpredictable effects of the chance of the spring play off, much better. At the moment, the number one on the fairing is carried by San Pablo Burgos of Bruno Savignani (7-0)next rival of the green and white. Another mountain stage.

Estudiantes and Betis have five wins and one loss. Both have bitten the dust at home, but at home they have stuck together. Betis arrives revitalized after the full home victories with Palencia and the Cartagenabut also responsible, aware of what is happening in WiZink, and in some way with the thorn still stuck in Torrelavega, where the team was disfigured, defocused and lost its identity in a turbulent second half that stopped its hitherto Immaculate league career. Betis learned from that lesson, sealing the main reason for its sins: the rebound. He has won over his rival in the last two games, excelling in the battle of pick and shovel with Cartagena, when he caught no less than 50 rebounds, 15 of them in attack, with two less centers in the rotation, without the injured Álex Suárez and Rubén López.

Many times it seems that it was in fits and starts, that he played with flashes of talent or without the desired continuity, but the reality is that he has won the last two games with twin figures in attack and defense, by 17 and 16 points advantagerespectively. Not with the cap, but in a loose way, reaching the last minutes surfing on the wave of tranquility that is always appreciated. This Betis, which was presumed to have unstoppable scoring power due to the status of many of its players, has been revealed as a team sacrificed in defense, leatherywhich puts the most laborious work before the spectacle without one being at odds with the other. It can’t be easy to guide this group of players down that path and Gonzalo García de Vitoria and his coaching staff seem to have achieved it.

The second attack against the best defense

The green and white ones show off the best defense of First FEB (only 68.3 points against) and the consistency of that gear will be what will be put to the test in the WiZink, where the second most devastating attack in the category awaits, with 89 points in favor and 42% in triple the averages. Like Betis, Estudiantes also has proven artillery on the perimeter. Jayson Granger He wears the stripes and is the boss, but also Pato Garino and Devin Schmidt, without forgetting the defensive capacity of Sola and the bursts of points, which can be devastating, of Francis Alonso, a destabilizing element in the play off promotion between both teams. Kravic and Barrowith different but complementary profiles, lead an internal battery in which Andric, Rubio and Alderete play a secondary role.

Equipped with multiple and powerful arguments, Movistar Estudiantes will gauge the size of a Betis Baloncesto team somewhat splintered by injuries. Álex Suárez and Rubén López have not played for a few games and, in addition, they lose for approximately a month Jelinekwith a break in the base of the fifth metatarsal of the right foot. Although physical mishaps have accumulated in recent weeks, the club does not plan to make a move in the market. There is confidence in this squad and in the versatility of the players to be used in different positions. Hughes He will add more minutes, Radoncic will return to the three and even Renfroe and Cvetkovic can play together in order to impose the rhythm of the game between the two, prevent Estudiantes from running and, in this way, block their offensive explosions.

It won’t be easy to encapsulate yourself defensively away from home as you do at home, much less on a court like the WiZink, but the Betis He must do everything possible to play as he knows how, without betraying himself or speeding up the game more than necessary. The pause is control. In melee scoring may suffer. Until proven otherwise, it is a heavyweight who is more of a fighter than a puncher. Thus he has done well in the six days held and there is no reason to change anything in the battle of resistance in the high mountains with this first stage in Madrid.