Minas and Assis to play in The Netherlands

[by Gustavo Machado Cardoso] - Minas Tênis and Conti Assis have been invited to participate in the traditional Amsterdam Haarlem Basketball Week that starts this Friday, in Haarlem, Holland. The squad from Minas was invited at the last minute after negotiations with Uruguayan Defensor Sporting didn’t fall through.

The tournament will have 8 teams divided into two groups. Assis is in Group A alongside Astana Tigers (Kazakhstan), BCI Edge (USA), and last year’s champion Eiffel Towers Den Bosch from Holland. Minas is in Group B with Valga Welg (Estonia), the Israeli National Team, and My Guide Amsterdam.

Two Brazilian squads have won the Haarlem Basketball Week tournament, which has been held in the last week of the year since 1984. São Paulo was the champion back in 1994 winning the final game against Den Braven (HOL) in a tight match (71-69) with 25 points by Charles Byrd.

Four years later the Brazilian National Team was the winner after a victory over the All Blacks of New Zealand. Rogério Klafke was the man of the game with 17 points in a 19 point victory by the Canarinhos.

Other Brazilian teams that competed in Haarlem in the past were Bauru, Fluminense, Franca, and Valtra.

The tournament is known for its tradition and teams such as CSKA Moscow, Zalgiris de Kaunas, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, and Cibona Zagreb have been part of it in past editions. This year’s main squad should be Eiffel Towers Den Bosch, which is currently competing in the ULEB Cup.

Den Bosch has 7 American players on its roster and is led by Darrell Tucker, a 27 year old 2m06 forward that averages over 14 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in the ULEB Cup.

Minas’ players, who recently played for Fluminense FC during the Carioca League, are led by Argentine point guard Facundo Sucatzky. At Assis the backcourt is also the main strength with Nezinho (Brazilian NT) and Adriano “Di” Galvão being the top scorers of the team in the Paulista League.

Although short in time, this competition will give each team a chance to play against squads from different international basketball systems, something that always enhances the players and the coaching staff’s experience.

Assis has its first game this Friday against Eiffel Towers Den Bosch. Minas is scheduled to play on Sunday against Estonia’s Valga Velg.