Hugo Gonzalez showed at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Munich that he can be a leader. And part of the reason the young Real Madrid player could do that was because of his role with Spain at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022.
Gonzalez helped Real to first place at the ANGT Munich and won the MVP award after he averaged 19.2 points on 58.8% on two-point shooting and 62.2% on three-pointers to go with 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks.
"It’s an important tournament and I am really happy to have contributed to the team," said Gonzalez, who was playing in the ANGT for the first time and is one year younger than most of the competition.
Gonzalez poured in 22 points to go with 3 rebounds and 4 steals in Real’s 84-64 victory over Zalgiris in the first-place game. That locked up Real’s spot in the ANGT Finals, which will take place at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Kaunas in May.
"We achieved our goal. We came here for this and to reach the ANGT Finals. I am really happy about the team’s performance," he said. "I hope we can continue to play well in our [domestic] league and then in May arrive in Kaunas and win it - because we need to."
Gonzalez’s performance against Zalgiris isn’t the first time he played well on a big stage. Last summer, he averaged 9.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists at the U17 World Cup, which was also an event for the 2005-born generation. Gonzalez saved his best game for the final against the United States in which he collected 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in a 79-67 loss.