VALENCIA (Jeff Taylor's Eurovision) - In case you were wondering, Iberostar Tenerife, a team that has a genuine FIBA feel to it, are for real.

That was reconfirmed on Saturday when the club being coached by Spain national team assistant Txus Vidorreta overcame Real Madrid, 75-64, in the Canary Islands.

Judging by the celebrations in the arena, some might say it was the biggest win in club history.

Iberostar Tenerife, it just so happens, did sneak up on Real last year but this victory had more value to it and that was borne out in Vidorreta's post-game remarks.

"The most important thing is that we have beaten Real Madrid while being first in the standings," Vidorreta said.

"Last season, we beat them but we weren't first. This time, we didn't have to warn them, they knew perfectly what they were up against. They didn't need to be reminded what (danger) this Tenerife side would pose. I give the result the importance that it has in the sense of the sporting side."

"It's strange that we are first at this stage of the season but little by little, it's sinking in. To win the league is a tall order, we will see. Humility is what has driven us here." -  Iberostar Tenerife point guard Rodrigo San Miguel

So Iberostar Tenerife are top of the heap in Spain at 17-5 while Baskonia (16-6) and Real Madrid, Valencia Basket and Barcelona (all 15-6) are chasing them.

Yes, an Iberostar Tenerife side that's in its fifth season in the Spanish top flight, is in first place in the vaunted Liga Endesa.

"It's strange that we are first at this stage of the season but little by little, it's sinking in," guard Rodrigo San Miguel said. "To win the league is a tall order, we will see. Humility is what has driven us here."

Lithuania's Marius Grigonis is on the Iberostar Tenerife roster

Iberostar Tenerife are not made up of household names in international basketball but they do have plenty of national team players.

There are Aaron Doornekamp (Canada), Georgios Bogris (Greece), Tariq Kirksay (France), Marius Grigonis (Lithuania), Nicholas Richotti (Argentina) and Fran Vasquez (Spain).

Bogris, a member of the Greek team at last year's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Turin, was the Gameday 6 MVP in the Basketball Champions League.

Doornekamp, a vital part of the Canada side that narrowly missed out on Olympic qualification in 2015, has been arguably Iberostar Tenerife's most important player.

A bundle of energy on defense, he is a 3-point shooting threat and has been on a tear in the Basketball Champions League.

The 31-year-old power forward, who helped Fraport Skyliners win the FIBA Europe Cup last season, has brought a championship-winning mentality to Tenerife. He poured in a game-high 17 points against Real. 

Two other important players, San Miguel and the now injured Javier Beiran, played for Spain's youth teams but have not broken into a star-studded Spain senior squad.

Grigonis played for Lithuania's Olympic team last year. The more than 5,100 fans that packed the Pabellon Insular Santiago Martin for the game against Real watched him score 12 points.

"With the fans that we have in the arena, we couldn't lose this game," he said. "The way we are playing, we can compete and win against anyone, especially when playing at home, for sure."

Adnan Omeragic, who is 20, and 19-year-old Samuel Rodriguez, are also players that have featured with Spain's youth teams.

Americans Tim Abromaitis, Will Hanley and Davin White are crucial players in the Tenerife side that are not members of a national team. There is also the athletic Senegalese center Mamadou Niang.

Iberostar Tenerife's season has been marked by some wonderful victories, including some in the last seconds.

There are no guarantees. As good as they have looked for much of the season, including against Real, a bad result can always bring a club crashing back down to earth.

That bad result could come on Wednesday, when they host PAOK in the Basketball Champions League Play-Offs Round of 16.

PAOK won the first leg, 66-63, in Thessaloniki, but Iberostar Tenerife, especially if they play as well as they did to beat Real, will be expected to overcome that deficit and advance.

Jeff Taylor
FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

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