No team has been able to get close to the reigning EuroCup champion this season.
Perfect Gran Canaria nearing a record winning run
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There’s been no stopping Dreamland Gran Canaria in the BKT EuroCup. Coming into Round 11 of the 2023-24 regular season, Jaka Lakovic’s men find themselves on an 18-game winning streak bridging this current campaign and the last, and a chance to make history is in their sights.
After becoming the EuroCup champion last season for the first time in club history, Gran Canaria has continued its momentum by going 10-0 through the first 10 games of the 2023-24 campaign. Despite losing some key pieces on its roster, including Khalifa Diop, Olek Balcerowski and Damien Inglis, all of whom are now plying their trade in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, Gran Canaria has not missed a step.
Interestingly, Gran Canaria’s five summer recruits are among the top eight players on the team in terms of PIR: Ethan Happ (No. 1, 12.8 PIR), Ben Lammers (No. 3, 11.9), Sylven Landesberg (No. 5, 11.2), Roko Prkacin (No. 7, 10.1) and Pierre Pelos (No. 8, 8.1 PIR). That goes to show the impressive work done by the club’s management in order to maintain an elite level of performance.
Gran Canaria has history in its sights
As stated above, Gran Canaria has currently gone 18 games without defeat in the EuroCup, so where does that stand up historically?
Well, that is the fourth-best record in competition history, and it has only been bettered on three occasions by two clubs, who won 20 games in a row: Lokomotiv Kuban (April 13, 2013, to March 18, 2015), Lokomotiv Kuban again (October 11, 2017, to March 23, 2018), and Virtus Segafredo Bologna (March 5, 2020, to April 6, 2021).
Therefore, should Gran Canaria defeat ratiopharm Ulm in Jaka Lakovic’s return to ratiopharm arena in Round 11 and then beat Dolomiti Energia Trento at Gran Canaria Arena in Round 12, the Spanish side would match the records set by Lokomotiv and Virtus.
Should everything go to plan for Coach Lakovic and Gran Canaria, the reigning EuroCup champion could break the all-time record with a victory on the road at Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse in Round 13 on December 26. If that were to happen, it would see Gran Canaria’s winning streak extend to 21 games and open a 13-0 record in Group A. It would be a nice Christmas present for the club’s fans, too.
Gran Canaria isn’t just winning – it’s dominating
Impressively, following last week’s blowout win at home to Aris Midea Thessaloniki, 93-65, Gran Canaria has now won eight games this season by more than 10 points. What’s more, that triumph was the team’s third straight victory by 22 or more points, which goes to show just how dominant Gran Canaria has been so far this season.
"It's a long season, and we have to keep building and keep working," Coach Lakovic stated after the win against Aris.
There are two tricky road games before Gran Canaria could become the all-time leader for consecutive games won, but the team will just want to take things one step at a time. For now, it needs to focus on a tough test at Ulm.
After all, staying focused and continuing to play like it has this season should make this achievement a formality. Perhaps the destination of the EuroCup title is becoming a bit of a formality, too.