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Shooter Bertans returns for Bilbao

Fuenlabrada lost to Murcia by 20 points at the start of the season, even though they were only down by 4 in the 34th minute. Two main players, shooter Feldeine and forward Panko, played poorly, which won't happen again

Carlos Cabezas practically didn't play high-level basketball last season. He fell from grace with the coach in Vitoria, lost his place in Laboral and quit the rotation. He waited for the new season to start and judging by the first round - he still knows how to play. He was Fuenlabrada's best player in Murcia with valorization 26 (16p, 4/9 from play, 5r, 6a, 2 balls won). Fuenlabrada held out for a long time, they were only down by 4 after the third quarter, which begs the question how did they lose by 20. The final result was 93-73, and 30-14 in the last quarter. They fell apart, couldn't defend themselves and it's impossible to win a match when you concede 28 points in the second quarter and 30 in the fourth. The score was 68-64 in the 34th minute, but Murcia won the last four minutes 15-3.

- We lost our concentration, especially in the last two minutes and that can never happen again. We were bad both defensively and offensively. It was kind of a weird match - said power forward Javi Vega, who got 19 minutes of playing time (1/4 from play).

They were especially bad in the rebound segment (27-41), and very important player, Andy Panko (11p, 2/9) failed.

- We're practically a new team and we don't know each other very well, but we have to stop these mistakes from happening, especially in the defense. We may spend 3-4 minutes missing shots in the offense, but you have to be constantly prepared in the defense, otherwise the match just slips away from you.

The positive thing before the match against Bilbao is the absence of problems. The team is complete and all players are ready for their first home match.

- I really like Bilbao. They're a competitive team that'll finish at the top of the table - Vega announces today's match.

- During the week the focus was on stopping their main players. I won't reveal too much. There are certain important tactical aspects we have to consider - interesting statement from the power forward.

From Fuenlabrada's point of view, the clash between Panko (in the photo) and Mumbru will be one of the most interesting and most important ones in the match. Mejeris and Arnold, who opened the match for Fuenlabrada as forwards, will have their hands full with Hervelle and Gabriel, and the Basque team also has Kavaliauskas and Sambo in those positions. Counterattacks with rebound and paint will have to be a lot better than in Murcia.

- We'll have to play a bit faster in offense, even though that's not easy and it's not always possible. We have to pick good shots and have good percentage. We need some extra effort in order to fix our defensive rebound - coach Chus Mateo is clear.

Apart from Panko, top shooter James Feldeine failed in Murcia. He only had 1/7 from play and it's unlikely he'll repeat that performance. With the right effort from Panko and Feldeine, Fuenlabrada can play a lot better, like for those 34 minutes in Murcia. Home team has a reason to be optimistic.

Bilbao played a terrible match at the start of the season. They conceded 86 points from Zaragoza at home and they were behind throughout the match. The best news for them was they didn't have time to dwell on that loss because they had a European match against Cedevita. They weren't very good in that match either, but they managed to win points. They had 56% shot for two points and 57% for three (12/21). It's hard to lose a match that way, even if you have 20 turnovers. Alex Mumbru was the central figure in matches against Zaragoza and Cedevita. He scored 37 points in both matches combined. Forwards Gabriel, Kavaliauskas and Carmichael still have a lot to show, but they're new and they'll need some time to become well-coordinated, especially if you take into consideration that Mumbru, Hervelle and Gabriel played at Eurobasket.

Shooter Bertans is coming back today. He'll help the shooting guard Fran Pilepic, so that Croat won't have to play over 30 minutes every night. Small forward Vrkic is still out.

American Jackie Carmichael is under a lot of critique these days. Power forward has shown very little thusfar, but coach Rafa Pueyo defended the player and asked for some patience.

- Fuenlabrada are a good team offensively, similar to us in terms of team construction because they have an experienced backbone with Cabezas, Panko and Roman Montanez - says coach Pueyo.

- They have good shooters and players who are good at one on one. If we want to win, we have to play good defense because we'll be able to score in offense, although it would be suicide to go basket for basket on their pitch.

The previous matches they've both played at the beginning of the season point out to a lot of faults in the defense in both teams. Bilbao have at home conceded almost 90 against Zaragoza, then a little less than 80 against Cedevita, who aren't exactly an offensive force. Both matches were on 160 points. I won't even mention the clash against Real: Real is another dimension for Bilbao at this point. Fuenlabrada have an older team of five, with point guard Cabezas for whom defense isn't the strongest point, and there are other players here who prefer offense to defense (Feldeine, Panko). Since I see both teams at around 80 points, I think this margin should be followed. Last season, when both of the teams possessed bigger quality in the defense area, they played matches at 172 and 169 points.