Like most full time basketball coaches Sky City Breakers head coach Dean Vickerman finds it difficult to stay away from the game even when on holiday.
Immediately following the Breakers Awards night a couple of weeks ago Vickerman flew to Barcelona to meet up with his wife Christy who was in the Spanish city attending a business conference. Conveniently former Breakers players Kirk Penney and Isaac Fotu were both scheduled to play Liga Endesa (Spanish National League) games in the Catalonian Capital last weekend.
Vickerman posted a short summary of the games involving his former charges.
Saturday Night – Barcelona vs Sevilla
Christy, Aaron (Breakers video analyst Aaron Young) and I were treated as VIP guests by Barcelona which meant I had to go buy some shoes as they had a dress codeof no sport shoes.
We sat with NBA scouts (over 10 NBA teams represented) who came to watch Sevillia’s power forward Kristaps Porzingiswho is projected to be a top 10 pick in 2015 NBA Draft. He did not fail to impress – leading the team in scoring, playing above the rim whilst also showing his perimeter shooting skills.
Kirk Penney entered the game late in the 1st Qtr and had instant impact with a 4 points play on his 1st touch. He went on to lead all scorers with 13 points at the half.
Barcelona’s deep bench proved the major difference in the 2nd half but also a hot shooting streak from Spanish international – J. Carlos Navarro broke the game open in the 3rd Qtr.
We caught up with Kirk after the game and watched his Wisconsin Badgers advance to the NCAA final 4.
Sunday Night – La Bruixa d’Or Manresa vs Iberostar Tener;
Aaron and I caught the Train to Manresa which is about a hour out of Barcelona. Manresa is a beautiful town which I got to see most of as Aaron’s navigation skills were tested (lost).
Although the game in Barcelona had passionate fans I felt the crowdat Manresa loved their team far more and made the refs life very difficult -more like a Sky City Breakers NSEC game.
Isaac came off the beach and also had an immediate impact with his first touch scoring on a strong post move. The game got close down the stretch,important FT’s were made by both teams but none more so than the 2 made by Manresa with .1 sec remaining on the game clock.
A very good win by Manresa who have won their last 2 games and are building confidence. Isaac played an important role in his team’svictory with 6pts, 6rebs, 2assists and a block playing at the power forward position. Manresa’s import point guard Davin White owned the game with 23 points.Back from holiday, expect to see coach Vickerman at a court near you sometime zoo
LACEY LOWDOWN 