The first round of the 2023-I Professional Basketball League’s initial phase is already in the past and not many comments about superiority have been heard from the Titans of Barranquilla. The team from Currambo finished as the leader of their conference, winning the title of champions in several matches – mostly at home – but the sensations of dominance are not as pronounced as in previous seasons.
It is at this stage of the road that uncertainty arises as to whether the current champions will have the skill to reach their eighth crown in a row. Something we can’t answer exactly at the moment. However, there are clues that may help us draw some conclusions.
What seemed like a Barranquillero recital in the A conference turned into an unexpected war. At the end of the first round, there was a triple tie for the lead of the group between Titanes, Búcaros and Piratas. They all have a record of six wins and two losses. Oddly, every time they faced each other there was always a tie in their series (it was a win for both sides).
Part of what rules those led by Tomás Díaz in their zone is the number of points they scored in each of those games (Titanes are the team with the most goals in their entire conference). A temporary stimulus.
It cannot be concluded from the four cardinal points that there is a titanic decline, as the Atlantic squad has not put together all its chips. They were forced to travel to Bogotá without players like Alejandro Torrenegra and Samuel Seoanes (ASCUN Games), and are still waiting for the guaranteed contribution that Panamanian Ernesto Oglivie and Colombian-Venezuelan Jesús Medina can bring. Nothing more nothing less.
We are talking about a quintet that, being incomplete, has caused a lot of problems. The ceiling is very high. However, it is quite right to say that they will not have it so easy in their fight for the title. We are witnessing one of the most even Colombian leagues in years.
Corsarios have not been able to find their rhythm, they look weaker than the previous campaign. The fight will be given by his other opponents. Motilones del Norte hopes to turn its bad moment around with the arrival of CJ Rodríguez, a Panamanian guard who already knows what it’s like to hurt the Titanes (he appeared when he faced them in the Champions League); Búcaros seems to have chosen most of his foreigners well and with the awakening of his national players they would seriously threaten the throne; while Piratas de Bogotá was tired of being a spectator and will do anything for the title.
The residents of Bogotá, once again closing a relevant transfer window, have now confirmed the recruitment of the Argentinian nationalized Dominican Xavier Carreras. A talented guard who has proven himself in several Argentine teams, registering an interesting 39% effectiveness from the triple in his most recent pass.
Competition more than brave for the current national winners. Like he never had on previous outings. All this without mentioning that the other conference is playing at the same or higher level. Team Cali, Cimarrones del Chocó, Cafeteros from Armenia and Caribbean Storm from San Andrés really fueled each other. The latter have just introduced fearsome goalscorer Dominic Morrison and confirmed them under the management of Hernán Giraldo as reinforcements for the great Tonny Trocha, player of the Colombian national team and champion with the Barranquillera team in previous years.
The show is served. The Titans usually start their seasons with doubts, but end them with extraordinary dominance. We’ll see how it turns out this time. For now, the curramberos will be back in action against Cartagena’s Corsairs as visitors this Saturday, starting at 8:05 p.m.
Source: El heraldo
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
