For the second consecutive year, the Dreamland Gran Canaria made available to its fans a package consisting of a voyage on a Naviera Armas boat, a T-shirt, transport by bus to the Santiago Martín Pavilion, and an entrance ticket to support the team in their attempt to end the ill-fated streak that has affected the yellow entity over the last five years. Nothing better than to cheer on the team on Lagunero territory, that’s what the 210 faithful yellows thought who will be pushing from the stands on Sunday to pick up where Víctor García left off in his last service as head coach before the expected handover by Pedro Martínez, in a season marked by participation in the Euroleague.
Alejo Melero, head of the Events and Promotion department at Granca, acknowledges that: “After the great reception this initiative had last year, we had to repeat it because everyone was asking for it”. “We are going with three buses; 210 fans will be travelling who have taken advantage of the package including boat, tickets, and T-shirt, although there are also people who we know have travelled on their own,” he explains very pleased with the response from the yellow tide.
Throughout yesterday, there was a steady stream of fans coming to the official store at Las Ramblas Shopping Centre to collect their packages, with that sparkle in their eyes that was also seen in the hundreds of fans who travelled to Málaga to enjoy the King’s Cup.
For Francisco, the earliest of the fans who gathered to pick up his package, he admits that in his case “it’s the first time I go to Tenerife with all the excitement to see a derby at Santiago Martín. “Tenerife has a great team and the duo of Huertas and Shermadini is very good, we usually lose to them, but we will try to do something this time,” he says hopefully.
For Juanma, however, this will be his second time at Santiago Martín: “Last year we were close to winning, it was my first experience there and it turned out to be wonderful, so this year I want to repeat and with a victory.” “I hope to continue supporting them there every year because Granca is my passion, and this year despite the bad luck in the Eurocup, I believe that next year we will come back stronger and hope to win the second Eurocup and play in the Euroleague.”
On the other hand, Orlando and Laura, like Francisco, are making their debut in a Tenerife derby. He is clear: “We are going to win there by three points”, while she misses “Balcerowski” and wants “Brussino to be more consistent, because there are games where he plays very well, but in others, he disappears.” Unlike Orlando, Laura states that she does not dare “to make a prediction, I go with the hope of winning, but if we can’t, at least we will have been there supporting the team.”
Héctor, the fifth lucky one to get hold of one of the coveted packages, admitted that he is excited “even though we haven’t won at the Santiago Martín in five years, the truth is that we are eager to achieve victory”. “If anything this Granca has shown is that it is capable of beating the best, and when everything favours us, we lose, this is sport and we can win,” he emphasized.
All five protagonists also completely agree on their preference for the interior game from the past season, with Khalifa Diop and Olek Balcerowski. “Happ is very good but not a complete player,” stated Francisco. In the same vein, Juanma misses “two big men under the hoop who are tough”, although he acknowledges that “I’d give the team a 7.5 overall because we are in the top zone of the table and aiming for the Playoffs.”
None of the five protagonists understand the reasoning behind the signing of Amar Gegic by Granca. “I’m not a sports director, but it’s true that Tenerife signs players who always perform well, in fact, on occasion, unknown players excel for them, and in the case of Gegic, he hasn’t had many opportunities, but even in the little time he has played, he hasn’t shown anything,” says Héctor.
[–>
If Granca wants any chance to win in Tenerife, Juanma is clear that “they need to practice more free throws because that’s why the team missed the opportunity to continue in the Eurocup by losing to Besiktas, they need to improve in rebounds and in many other things that we still lack,” a sentiment echoed by the rest of his companions.
Subscribe to continue reading
