By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
In 2008-09, S.L. Benfica was preparing to start its fourteenth consecutive season without major domestic trophies. With the exception of the previous year’s success in the newborn Troféu António Pratas Proliga, fasting had lasted since 1996. It was time to change that.
That season ended with the club making history and proved to be the beginning of a new era after reaching a peak that was never reached before. Benfica completed the season totally undefeated in the Portuguese League Regular Season, a result that no European team had ever achieved before except for Maccabi Tel Aviv in 1971.
The goals reached at the end of 2008-09 with players such as Ben Reed and Seth Doliboa allowed the Lusitanians to continue unopposed in the following year, eventually gaining historic access to a European competition: the EuroChallenge, where they pushed up to the Last 16.
Still, the glories of the 1990s, when the Portuguese team also managed to beat historic powerhouses like CSKA Moscow and Panathinaikos in the European Champions Cup, seemed to have faded away.
Another quick appearance in the 2014-15 EuroChallenge was the last stage of a journey that was now devoided of joy. Then came the 2022-23 FIBA Basketball Champions League Qualification Rounds.
The opportunity to play in front of their home fans in the Fidelidade Pavilion was a great motivation for a team that in the summer enriched an already prosperous roster in valid elements such as Betinho Gomes and Aaron Broussard, adding names like Maik Zirbes, Ivan Almeida, Terrell Carter, and Toney Douglas.
Yes, that Toney Douglas who in 2008-09, when Benfica made history in Portugal, was one of the most intriguing shooting guards in the NBA, rocking the New York Knicks jersey in Madison Square Garden. His experience would have been fundamental for this team, and his mentality is all about winning.
“When the final buzzer sounded, it was a great feeling at the end of the Qualifications game. I knew we have a team that was not only able to compete but also able to win games in the BCL Regular Season. Still, the job is not finished. We have to take one game at a time”, he said to Eurohoops.
Benfica is the first team in the history of Portugal – the 24th country to be represented in the competition – to qualify for the Basketball Champions League Regular Season. And the first game was a success, getting the 76-89 away victory in Latvia against VEF Riga.
“On our team, we have multiple players that can step up on any given night and have a good performance. We use that to our advantage. You can not only focus on one or two players. You must focus on the whole team. Everyone has one goal: win”, said Douglas.
And in fact, this all-around performance – 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists shooting 7/11 from the field – was complemented by 15 points for Broussard, 12 points and 6 rebounds by Betinho Gomes, plus 10 points and 4 rebounds by Zirbes.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game. We faced a little bit of adversity During the game, but I think for the most part we trusted each other on both ends of the floor. That’s what got us here in the Qualifier Rounds. We don’t really care how’s the highest scorer in the game, we just want to win. Whatever it takes to do that, it doesn’t matter. I learned in Europe that when you win, everything goes well”, he said in the post-game press conference.
Ivan Almeida also produced big with 16 points and 3 rebounds. In the Qualification Rounds, he averaged 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, shooting 54.5% from three-point range.
“Ivan Almeida’s performance has been good on both ends of the floor. I am talking to him about how to read certain defenses, on how they are playing. Also, how to always be effective on the court on both sides on offense and defense”, added Douglas.
The next step will be the away game against Limoges scheduled on October 11 at 20:30 CET, in a Group F that also includes the 2021-22 Basketball Champions League runner-up BAXI Manresa.
Two tough opponents, but Toney Douglas has a clear goal in mind: “Why not become the first-ever Portuguese team in to reach the BCL Round of 16? To do that it will be a lot of work, taking one game at a time, really trying to be focused and locked into the team we are playing against. Anything is possible, so why not have the confidence and show our Benfica fans that we can do it”.
In what is his sixteenth career team, the eighth since he moved his talents to Europe, Toney Douglas bets on Benfica, and Benfica bets on him. “Finding myself in the locker room is great right now. I’m always trying to give wisdom to the teammates as well as being a leader on and off the floor”, he said.
No one imagined that fourteen years after that perfect run in the Portuguese league, Benfica would find itself a leader in a charismatic player like Toney Douglas, but the Eagles got him. And now they don’t want to stop flying.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League