Vincent Poirier, the moment of the giant "in the shadow of a giant"
Vincent Poirier and his naked torso full of tattoos played with his girl Nola on the Martín Carpena parquet, which after the cup final had become a social gathering for happy Real Madrid fans. Selfies, hugs and talks with the trophy from hand to hand. The MVP was in the hands of Facu Campazzo, but everyone was aware that it would have been just as deserved for the French center.. His performance since Thursday in Malaga was impeccable, but it was more decisive in the final against Barça, exposing Willy Hernangómez at the moment of truth.
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In those two offensive rebounds, two very powerful hits, was the white success, the pull at the key moment. There was also some vindication, because this time the tower that supported the Chus Mateo framework was not Edy Tavares. He was the “shadow” guy. And the joy of the rest for him. Because if something stands out about Poirier, who would be the starting five for 90% of the Euroleague teams, it is his attitude.. In contrast to the bad faces of Mario Hezonja, for example, the former Baskonia player always has a gesture of complicity with whom he shares minutes and training sessions.. “Le loves (Tavares)…. They love each other very much,” Chus Mateo later admitted, delighted with his giants.. “We all know what Edy has done for this team, everything he has given us. Now he has been injured and I am here to replace him,” the hero conceded.
Because precisely these days the bad form of Tavares has become evident.. Which coincides with his return after a few weeks injured, but also with the stagnation of his renewal. His contract with Real Madrid ends in June and, despite rumors without much basis, there are no conversations either with the white club or with the suitors who will not be lacking.. Neither in Europe nor in that NBA in which he failed to succeed.
He is similar in all this to Poirier, another renegade from the best league in the world, like Campazzo, Deck, Musa, Yabusele or Hezonja himself. White treasures now. The former Celtics and Sixers also ends his contract and they also raffle him off. And he doesn't know anything either, at the moment. This summer, with the return of Willy Hernangómez to Spain, the possibility of his return to Madrid was considered, but the club was aware that in no case would there be a gap, such was the confidence in Vincent.
Because there is no price in “working and fighting, with patience, in the shadow of a giant”. And Tavares' bad moment is taken advantage of by Poirier, a guy who maintains a special connection with Sergio Rodríguez – there is no game without alley oop between the two, in the final he didn't miss either -, who arrived late to basketball (until he was 17 he played soccer , as a center back), who puts up blocks with enormous eagerness (many of them with his left) and who goes to the offensive rebound like a tiger.
He came to the Cup in good shape, with one of his best games ever, against Girona a couple of weeks ago, when he scored a PIR of 37. In the final he scored 17 points without a mistake (32 rating), seven out of seven, never seen before In the entire Cup, 12 out of 12, including a triple. “He has done an incredible job. “Not only has he been great in the final but he has been great throughout the tournament, also coming from the bench…”, Campazzo acknowledged about the substitute center, who this time and even the Argentine was aware, deserved the laurels. “When Vince fell hard inside, he created spaces in the corners. And then, if we touched the paint again, we would find the gaps. That, added to his offensive rebounds, has given a very complete job to win the Cup,” Facu concluded.