A date is on the table for most basketball clubs: on February 28. That day is the last so that, for example, the teams of the Women’s League can strengthen their squads of faces in the final (and decisive) stretch of the season. It also serves the ACB, which at the end of the month closes the possibility of player exchanges between clubs in the competition. After that date, therefore, the only option to sign would be by bringing someone who had been deregistered before February 28 or from another championship.
Spar Girona and Básquet Girona therefore have three weeks to determine if they need to boost their squad. In the case of Uni, the possibility of making a signing is very real. But as coach Bernat Canut admitted on Saturday after the victory against Casademont Zaragoza “we want to strengthen ourselves but it’s complicated, many teams also want to do it”. The sports director, Laia Palau, detailed a few weeks ago, when Cornelius left Fontajau to go to Mersin, that they wanted to continue building the most powerful team possible, even though the market offers few bargains. Now the Women’s League has stopped because of the FIBA window dispute and when it resumes for the Girona team, the hour of truth will begin: a visit to Valencia in the Women’s League and a final in Fontajau against Mersin, with qualification for the quarter-finals at stake. And after these chapters, the Queen’s Cup, the resolution of the league and who knows if new emotions in Europe.
The case of the ACB
In the ACB, the signing market also closes on the 28th for player exchange operations between clubs in the competition itself (for example, the case of Jeremiah Hill, who arrived in Girona from Betis a few weeks ago). From March 1, no piece can be incorporated who is on the payroll of a club in the highest category of men’s basketball. In Fontajau, with the improved performance shown by the team, there is not so much urgency. Relegation is four wins below, with several teams involved, and the play-off, a hair away. In some press conference, Aíto was asked if it was necessary to make more signings and the coach has never given a clear answer. The last time he remembered that Pierre Oriola is still out and that it was necessary to see how Garino was adapting once he seems to have left behind the physical problems.
The Girona team, with seven wins, are well on their way to stay. Historically, 11-12 is enough to save the category and maybe this season it will be enough with less.