We’ve attended the XIX Ciutat d’Esplugues U15 tournament organized by CB Nou Esplugues, near Barcelona, during 3rd, 4th and 5th January. 8 teams were participating from all around Spain and 2 other countries. Well organized event and even though some players did not participate due their obligations with autonomic teams it has been worth going and see interesting prospects to follow down the road.
FINAL STANDINGS
1- Stella Azzurra Rome
2- Divina Seguros Joventut
3- FC Barcelona Lassa
4- CB I Unió Manresana
5- Valencia Basket
6- KK Petrovgrad
7- Illes Balears
8- CB Nou Esplugues
CB NOU ESPLUGUES, THE HOSTING TEAM
We were surprised by the general performance of the team and their attitude, bringing them chances to compete against some top teams. #15 Marc Iglesias was the guy entrusted to lead this team and he performed good enough, averaged more than 20 points per contest and was doing a good job defensively in the zone.
ILLES BALEARS TEAM
Even with the lack of 2 of their best players due to their call to the ‘02 Spanish Regional Selections Championship in Valladolid, they still were able to compete.
The most interesting player was Joan Gari (#9 – 189cm) who has good physic and fair shooting. Was really active in defense and has a notable jumping ability. Plays with good attitude and helps the team by running transition offense after grabbing rebounds.
CB VALENCIA
Forward Pablo López( #10 – 190cm) is the actual best prospect from this team. Has skinny body but good height and runs quickly. Has a good ability to drive his way to the rim given his good dribbling skills. Despite his height is a good rebounder thanks to instincts.
Worth mentioning: Hugo Albert, Jose Miguel Carpio (2nd place on 3-point contest)
STELLA AZZURRA
This was one of most hyping teams to watch, mainly after their big performance in Orotava.
Yanick Nzosa (#19 – 208cm) really tall guy who despite not having a lot of toughness is able to dominate the zone, intimidate on defense and block shots. Offensively he needs to improve his shooting but can read well open spaces to get good spots near the rim where he has been unstoppable and able to dunk easily.
Matteo Spagnolo (#9 – 190cm) is one of the best prospects of this tournament who personally I was so hyped to watch mainly due to his offensive skills and abilities to play 1v1. Also has a good shooting including off the dribble and has good accuracy even well defended.
Felipe Motta (#10 – 191cm) – Still has to develop his body. He has shooting skills and enough height to grab rebounds. Took a lot of time for him to feel comfortable on the court and to do what I was expecting from him. However, finally he did it and played a good game in the final.
Worth mentioning: Sasa Ciani and Dino Bocevski and loaned guys Tim Jonsson (‘04), Akos Kovac and Joan Fernández.
CLUB JOVENTUT BADALONA
Miguel Malik Allen (#23 -187) plays on SG for the team. Has really accurate shooting on threes and can handle the ball. Has good legs and showed some nice jumping. Still a bit undeveloped but definitely good projection.
Alex Rubin de Celis (#24 -179) playing guard with nice court vision. He has tremendous ball-handling skills. Still has a long way to develop his body but he dominates thanks to really good changes of speed to break his defenders.
Marc Figueras (#10 – 194) forward who plays in Joventut has quite skinny body but good speed. He’s able to grab many rebounds due to his long arms. He likes to run the court and get advantages on fast breaks.
Worth mentioning: Fernand Vilar and Guillem Vázquez
UNIÓ MANRESANA
Toni Naspler (#17 – 194cm) is one of the best players from his generation with great future not only in Catalonia. He usually plays lots of minutes in ‘02 Manresa team. He’s a PG with high IQ and passing (often after his penetrations to the rim) who also has good hands in defense. Moreover, possess good dribbling skills and 1v1 moves but he needs to finish with more toughness. Played good games even though he had elbow issues.
Worth mentioning: Julià Piñeyro (1st place on 3point contest)
FC BARÇA LASSA
Michael Caicedo (#12 – 196cm): Forward who has good physic. Actually, maybe a bit skinny but can still improve it. Good legs make him able to grab rebounds easily and to make some good dunks. Also, he has a proper defensive attitude not just intimidating but also defending outside players. Despite all those things he needs to improve his shooting range and decision-making process.
Guillem Carrasco (#14 – 201cm ): Center for Barcelona shown good moves on the post during the tournament. Has a good understanding of the game so gets good spots to score near the rim. His size is good and can even grow more. Beside that, on defense, he’s a bit soft but can still alter shots due to his height.
Worth mentioning: Arnau Tarrida, Jeremie Manang, David Pena.
KK PETROVGRAD
Marko Zeevic (#22 – 191 ): Main player of the team. Has good height and outside shooting, (finished on 3rd place on the 3point contest). Plays tough D and has good speed. He also uses his toughness to get rebounds and to make some penetrations.
Worth mentioning: Vlad Nikolaj Grujesk, Savo Sormaz, Milos Vico.
