Men’s Division 1 A
Weekend of 1 A Division
I rarely get around to covering any of the lower leagues – so it was GREAT to visit both Äänekoski and Oulu this weekend gone. To see what is bubblin’ under in the league where the winner gets promoted to Korisliiga
Faster and more emotions
The things that really stuck out for me from these two games, were that the pace of the game is faster than in Korisliiga and the players show (or allowed to show!) more emotions than players in Korisliiga.
And where as you don’t want the game to get too physical – a little bit of staring down or getting close.. that just adds spice to the game. WHEN kept at the right level – naturally it is easy to over blow things as well.
Allowed to play!
Also – the referees do NOT whistle every small contact as a foul – like they do in Korisliiga. Now I don’t know if this is right/correct/good – but from the flow of the game point of view – it definitely allows the game to move at a different pace and you are less likely to get a headache from the referee blowing his whistle 20 times in a minute!
Fans – Support
Especially the first game – Huima vs Kipinä – local derby and great atmosphere at the Arena. A really close game that almost went to O.T ..
The venue might not have been the biggest – but it was the right size for a game like this and you really felt that everyone at the arena was supporting one team or the other.
Youth
Now this is something that will divide opinions.
At the games you had lots of junior players/kids watching the game (more than in Korisliiga games!!). And at every time out or intermission – tens of kids ran to the court of side of the court to shoot hoops.
Now – you can look at it in the way of it being great that the players of tomorrow get to run to the big court to shoot few hoops, or you can look at it in the way that there is a lot at stake in the game and do you want kids running on the court/side of the court during these times??
And – I let everyone have their opinion on this – and not push my own opinion here 🙂
Ready for Korisliiga ??
Are teams like this ready for Korisliiga?? Now talking of the teams I saw over the weekend.
Raiders in Oulu – bottom of Division 1 A, they’ve had a turbulent season from what I’ve heard – but league table does not lie so .. not at the moment ready for Korisliiga.
Oulu – another team with a really turbulent season. Big hopes at the start, BIG issues midseason and then step in AC Oulu to give a helping hand and now the team is looking like one of the best teams in the league. The facilities are there – from what I gather the backroom is in order.
It would be nice to see a ‘northern’ team in the league – at the moment the game is too concentrated in the south.. so hoping for Oulu to keep pushing and make it to Korisliiga soon.
Huima – Äänekoski does have some traditions in basketball and in the Women’s side one of the legends of the game played at Huima for a long time.
The men’s team might not quiet YET be ready for the league – but looks like they are growing year on year – so maybe soon??
Kipinä – 2nd in the league, strong American line-up, good Finns to back it up – so from these parts looking like a strong challenger for the promotion spot for this season. No idea about their venue and stuff like that – so can’t say whether Korisliiga is a realistic step-up in the next season or two. But would be a really cool addition to Korisliiga.
