By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
“Nobody believed in us.”
Those are often cliché words on the sporting landscape, but they sound pretty real sometimes. That was the case in Manila when the Dominican Republic went on a three-game winning streak to start the 2023 World Cup.
They were surely spurred by NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns, but a trio of upcoming BKT EuroCup gems were also among the protagonists of the Dominicans’ early success in the competition: ratiopharm Ulm’s L.J. Figueroa, Joventut Badalona’s Andres Feliz, and Besiktas Emlakjet Istanbul’s Angel Delgado.
They ended up losing to eventual silver medalist Serbia, but the world was put on notice. Now, six months later, two of them are only a victory away from the newly restored best-of-three EuroCup Semifinals.
Feliz took his momentum to Joventut
After a win against Angola in the Philippines, those words – “Nobody believed in us” – came from Feliz’s mouth. Towns may have been the reason why the Dominican national team was that competitive, but without its number 10, things wouldn’t have been the same.
Feliz finished the competition averaging 16.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, and he shot with crazy numbers: 72.2% from two-point distance, 65.2% from three, and 90.0% at the line. Without any doubt, he brought all that confidence back to Badalona, starting an impressive campaign in the BKT EuroCup.
Before the do-or-die quarterfinals this week, Feliz stands seventh among all EuroCup players in PIR per game, at 19.7, based on his averages of 14.7 points, 5.1 assists and with 4.6 rebounds. He hasn’t stopped shooting efficiently, either, making 56.1% of his two-pointers and 46.2% from beyond the arc.
Feliz showcased the best version of himself when it mattered most, dropping a career-high 36 PIR that made him this year’s eighthfinals MVP. Against his countryman Figueroa, he took down home-court favorite Ulm with 28 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists while downing 9 of 11 two-point shots and 3 of 6 triples.
An almost-unbeatable Paris Basketball is next for Joventut head coach Carles Duran’s team, and taking a look at the French side’s regular season dominance – 17 wins and only 1 defeat – few might be optimistic about Badalona. But they should not forget what Andres Feliz said a few months ago after another of his teams had been underestimated: “Nobody believed in us.”
Delgado dominates at the rim for Besiktas
While the 26-year-old guard is given to deciding games from downtown, another huge asset in the Dominican Republic’s success was fighting at the rim in the battle for rebounds. After climbing up the overseas ladder season after season, Delgado is finally getting all the credit he deserves.
Limited in playing time behind Towns on the Dominican team, Delgado has had plenty of minutes with which to energize Besiktas in the EuroCup as the black-and-white Turkish team finished sixth in Group A, right behind Joventut.
Part of a talent influx that saw Matt Mitchell, Jonah Mathews and Derek Needham arrive in Istanbul too – with Marko Simonovic joining them midway through the season – the 29-year-old Delgado has been an anchor for Besiktas. He is almost averaging a double-double with 11.8 points and 9.6 boards, second-best in the league, per game.
After shattering Gran Canaria’s dreams by eliminating last year’s champs on the road in the eighthfinals, Besiktas will now need Delgado’s extra effort against Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv, which went straight to the quarterfinals as their group’s second seed, thanks in part to defeating the Turkish team twice.
Besiktas head coach Dusan Alimpijevic already proved that he does not fear this kind of pressure when he brought seventh-seeded Frutti Extra Bursaspor to the EuroCup Final in 2022. The Eagles will try to fly just as high now with one of the most powerful rim-protectors of the continent, far away from his relatively small island home in the Caribbean, taking care of business down low.
PHOTO CREDIT: BKT EuroCup