So how did Baskonia return to Glory? - Caracter Baskonia

The Caracter Baskonia is the attitude of never giving up, being a team with passion, resilience and fight, having extreme level of self belief and being the deadly underdog. However, it has been a tough few years for the Vitoria team, especially domestically. While they have won an ACB league recently (2019-2020), with special circumstances, they have had a lot of shortcoming in the Copa Del Rey (Missed the 2020, 2022, 2024, 2025 editions) and in the ACB they have even missed the playoffs in the 2023-24 season. Just yesterday, Baskonia broke this bad streak, getting silverware once again, after an epic Copa del Rey run which saw them defeat Tenerife, Barcelona and Real Madrid. 

A new focus

Xevi Pujol was perhaps the biggest signing made by Baskonia in the summer. He had a very succesful tenure as a General Manager with the consistenly overperforming Manresa, which earned him the move to Baskonia. The approach by the Basque team quickly changed, placing a focus on getting good "Cupos" (homegrown players, not needed to be Spanish). Baskonia did not renew Sander Raieste, Pavel Savkov or Ousmande Ndiaye, and they signed Matteo Spagnolo, Rafa Villar, Rodion Kurucs. They are players who are way more ready to contribute in the Euroleague and in the ACB. They also got rid of the expensive contract of Moneke, getting Diakite to fill in as a combo big, Diallo was signed to replace Rogavopoulos (after PAO paid the buyout) and Marquis Nowell replaced Kamar Baldwin. An even more important change was the release of Pablo Laso, with the coaching spot being given to Paolo Galbiati.

Overall, the roster had these changes:

Coach: Laso - Galbiati

Forrest/Baldwin/Jaramaz                                      Forrest/Nowell/Villar

Howard/Raieste/Savkov                                       Howard/Spagnolo

Luwawu-Cabarrot/Rogavopoulos                        Luwawu-Cabarrot/Diallo/Joksimovic

Moneke/Sedekerskis/Ndiaye                                Sedekerskis/Kurucs/Frisch

Hall/Samanic/Diop                                               Samanic/Diakite/Diop

I want to focus on the cupos for a bit. Villar is a player who barely plays, and for example in the Euroleague he averages 0.5/0.5/05. Yes, a very unremarkable statline. In the ACB he averages 2.2-1.1-1.2. Very modest numbers, that is for sure, yet it allows Baskonia to have a Cupo in their 12 man squad (4 are needed in ACB competitions) who is safe with the ball in his hands and can put on ball pressure on rival guards, even if he plays less than 10 minutes per game. He has started 8 times in Europe, which shows that he has a genuine role, something that Savkov for example did not have. He also can be seen as a 1-1 replacement for Jaramaz, who served as a third string PG, but was more expensive and Villar, and did not have Cupo status, thus he did not help with the matchday squads. Spagnolo adds another dimension, as he in an actual player who can actually contribute and play 15-25 minutes per game. He is a very good scorer and has a lot of offensive talent. Rodion Kurucs gives a versatile presence, as he can play as a combo forward or even as a small ball 5, while also being a good floor spacer, post up threat and a decent passer. He is not elite, but he can contribute in many facets of the game. As a result, Baskonia went from having Raieste, Savkov, Sedekerskis, Ndiaye and Diop and cupos to Villar, Spagnolo, Kurucs, Sedekerskis, Diop. This change is radical, as Savkov, Raieste and Ndiaye were players that had potential (especially Savkov and Ndiaye, Raieste was more of a defensive tool, at 25 years old), but could not contribute and give the specific skills that the newly acquired Cupos can (Spagnolo-Scoring, Villar-Pressure, Kurucs-Two Way versatility). These skills were important for the Cup run, with Kurucs scoring 14 points vs Tenerife+Barca and having a good performance vs Real, Villar giving 11 minutes of defensive intensity vs Tenerife, while Spagnolo showed some offensive spark off the bench, averaging nearly 7 points per game and 10 PIR in the Cup. Last year, Savkov and Ndiaye would be DNPs, while Raieste would have a role similar to Villar, being a wing defender instead of a Point of Attack one, like Villar is. This of course allows Baskonia to have a bigger versatility in regards to the roster call-ups ahead of ACB fixtures. In a role similar to the one Savkov had, Stefan Joksimovic was called up from the B team, getting some spare minutes now and then. To accomodate this budget wise, Hall and Rogavopoulos were sold to the two Greek giants, Moneke was not renewed and Baskonia went for cheaper options like Diakite or Frisch. 

The in-season restructure

However, not everything went well for Baskonia, as the start of the season proved to be rocky, at best. Baskonia reacted quickly and made some roster movements. Injury issues in the guards made them sign Kobi Simmons, who quickly showed his quality. Then, Diallo left the team, and got replaced by Radzevicius, a player who is less flashy, definetely not as marketable as a Slam Dunk Contest winner, but can contribute by being an amazing shooter (Diallo is not that) and a good defender. Samanic would also leave, and in his place Omoruyi would arrive. The Nigerian player would soon become a fan favourite due to his passing skills and overall offensive talent. 

Forrest/Nowell/Villar                                          Forrest/Simmons/Nowell/Villar

Howard/Spagnolo                                               Howard/Spagnolo

Luwawu-Cabarrot/Diallo/Joksimovic                 Luwawu-Cabarrot/Radzevicius/Joksimovic

Sedekerskis/Kurucs/Frisch                                  Sedekerskis/Kurucs/Frisch

Samanic/Diakite/Diop                                         Diakite/Diop/Omoruyi

In the league, Nowell is almost always discarded as Baskonia have 4 extra communitary players (Forrest, Simmons, Howard, Nowell) and then the other 3 guards rotate. Diakite and Omoruyi (he can even play as a SF) are versatile players who can also fill as PFs, while Diop starts as a Center. The 3 of them rotate a lot as a 5. The long term injury that Sedekerskis has sustained has given a big role to Kurucs, while Frisch does not get much play time as Galbiati uses the above mentioned versatile bigs as PFs in a frequent basis. 

The Copa del Rey rotation

The injuries to Sedekerskis and Diop meant that Baskonia had to endure the Copa del Rey with a very short rotation, as Nowell and Simmons did not make the cut over Forrest and Howard. 

Forrest/Villar

Howard/Spagnolo

Luwawu-Cabarrot/Radzevicius/Joksimovic

Kurucs/Frisch

Diakite/Omoruyi

As such, Diakite and Omoruyi got a much larger role, both averaging more 24 and 21 minutes per game, whereas in the Euroleague they get 16 per game. They shared the floor a lot of times, when Kurucs was not on the floor, with Frisch getting 5-10 minutes to give rest to this 3 man core in the bigs. TLC and Forrest were the spearheads of the Baskonia offense, both of them averaging 18 points per game. Howard never managed to get into rhytm, but made some clutch scores in the final, after the French wing got fouled out. Radzevicius gave solid minutes (more than 20 per game), playing very good defense, helping in the rebounds (4.3 per game) and making hustle plays. Spagnolo was able to give rest to the backcourt, alternating between the PG and SG positions, as Villar only had real minutes in the Quarter Final. 

Forrest was by far the best player in the tournament, playing 33 minutes a night, with a monstuous 29 average in PIR, and a crowing final performance where he almost scored a Triple Double. In the same game, TLC broke the scoring in a Copa del Rey final. Diakite also had a crucial role, having a magnificent block in the semi-final against Shengelia, repeating that feat in the final, while also giving a fantastic assist to Howard in the final minute of the Cup, to put Baskonia at a safe distance vs Real. Similarly, Omoruyi upped his game in the final, scoring 23 points, while he also gave 7 assists vs Tenerife. Radzevicius got many minutes (never below 20') to allow TLC to shift to the SG, as Howard was not inspired and Spagnolo had to play Point in the absence of the US guards. 

From this core (Forrest-Spagnolo-Howard-TLC-Radzevicius-Frisch-Kurucs-Omoruyi-Diakite) we can see that Baskonia had no true Center, no player with a height higher than 6'9, but loads and loads of players with passion, grit, versatility and clutch mentality. After all, this is Baskonia. They won the semi-final vs Barca is a low scoring game, vs Real scoring 100. The common denominator? The attitude. Character Baskonia to its core.