Barcelona’s junior basketball team clinched a 102-63 victory against Real Madrid and won the championship. James Ugochukwu Nnaji, the player of our Rátgéber Academy put in an excellence performance in the final and with an efficiency of 28 he was chosen the Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Recently, Real Madrid could be happy when in the U18 EuroLeague final they beat Barcelona in an overtime game. The Blaugranes grab the first chance to take revenge: in the junior championship final they delivered a blow-out 102-63 win and put their hands on the trophy.
James Ugochukwu Nnaji is leading the roster! Our player has been spending his first season in Barcelona’s star team and he has already made a name for himself by becoming one of the best and most valuable players. If they win the EuroLeague final, James will be selected to be the MVP – but as they didn’t, he had to be satisfied with being included in the All-Star Five. In addition, his performance grabbed the attention of several NBA team managers. After the game, Balázs Radics’s (his manager and owner of ICT Europe) and László Rátgéber’s (the professional and strategic director of our academy) phones were continuously ringing. On the other end of the line was such professional as Primoz Brezec, the international scout of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But let’s get back to the final! Barcelona didn’t give a single chance to Real, after the halftime they played a really outstanding game and left their opponent behind. They only allowed 20 points for Real Madrid while they scored 51 (25-11, 26-9)! James Ugochukwu Nnaji took a major role: as a member of the first five he scored 14 points (7/8 FG), grabbed 6 rebounds, got 8 assists and 3 blocks and finished with an efficiency of 28. He was chosen to be the MVP of the game.
In 2018, James arrived at our Academy as a shy, untrained Nigerian boy with little basketball knowledge. Now he is one of the top prospects in Europe and he has all the potential to enter the NBA. During his 692 days at Rátgéber Basketball Academy we taught him everything we could. Then we let him go with no doubt as we were sure they would get the most out of him at Barcelona.
In his last training at the Academy, Coach Ivica Mavrenski said goodbye to him with the following words: “Show them what you are really made of!”
James didn’t forget these words, he showed his full capability in the Spanish Junior Championship Final.
We wish you much success in the future, James!
