Preseason Korisliiga – it must be a cheeseburger??

It was a return to the court for Korisliiga players after the summer adventures, as the preseason is tipping off around the courts in Finland. It was also a test return for myself to the baseline with the cameras, with almost two months since the last visit … due to some issues which I won’t go into here.

These games are always bit of strange one to shoot and watch – it is kind of like if you go to a fancy restraurant and they serve you ‘a deconstructed concept of a cheeseburger’ .. you have all the parts that look like a cheeseburger, there is the smell and texture of cheeseburger .. but still something feels a little different, but your brain will accept that what you are seeing and tasting, is in fact a cheeseburger.

Sort of like a preseason basketball game, all parts look, sound, feel familiar – but they are not quite the way they should be… but you still will accept that it is a game of basketball in front of your eyes.

Game itself, between KarhuBasket and BC Nokia, was just what you would expect from first outings from the practice court to competitive games. Coaches trying different things, players still learning the sets and how they fit into the team, players still getting into shape ahead of the season (I have this pet saying of mine that one should not judge Korisliiga teams before February ends… that’s when the teams have gelled and gotten their game to the level it ‘should’ be.. never judge any team before then in the Finnish league..).

Probably the most active participants in the game through out the 40 minutes, were the floor wipers – I lost count after they came on to wipe the floors for the 124th time in the game 😉 There were lots of sweaty men on the court last night.. hats off to the floor wipers – well performed last night!!!

Result wise – one team (Karhu) made few points more than the other (BC Nokia) – it was nice to see Karhu bringing out few more Finnish youngsters to their roster (two of their import players did not play) with players like Salmi, Laavainen and Riihimäki. Also interesting to see Max Besselink on the BC Nokia roster, Hugo Boman definitely will be making some noise around the league this season. Back to Karhu and Andre Gustavson making his debut in Kauhajoki .. lot of eyes will be on him this season. On the import section – not surprisingly the ‘returnees’ – Pollard (Karhu) and Ross (Nokia) were most at home at this early stage of the preseason.. and I am not good enough judge of players to say anything about the new imports.. besides that on stats few of them did stand out on the points column.. give me time and give the players time and we’ll all be smarter (in February).

For myself – it was just a test to see whether return to full work mode would be possible now or soon – and in someways the answer was yes, and in others…. no. Took some photos – took some video.. TRIED to talk to some people and ended spending the night in the safe and familiar National Park near Kauhajoki… so life is almost like before.