Veteran forward and 2019 Basketball World Cup winner Javier Beiran is one of the players Herbalife Gran Canaria will look to during for leadership in its critical clash with UNICS Kazan on Wednesday, which made him a perfect choice for this week's interview.
Javier Beiran, Gran Canaria: 'We can go far'
Interviews
10 mins read
Despite a 0-3 start to the 7DAYS EuroCup Top 16, Herbalife Gran Canaria has been able to stay alive and arrive at Round 6 with good chances to reach the playoffs. Experienced forward Javier Beiran played a big role in Gran Canaria's Round 5 victory and the team knows it can rely on him in this week's decisive clash against Group H leader UNICS Kazan. Though Beiran is cautious about his team's game against UNICS, he knows his team worked hard for this opportunity and has to make the most out of it, as he said in this EuroCupBasketball.com interview. "We have been improving since the beginning of the season," Beiran said. "If we manage to beat UNICS and make it the playoffs, we can go far and dream of repeating the great results the club had in previous seasons."
Hello, Javier. Congratulations on a great win in a do-or-die situation. You played a great game. How did you manage to overcome the pressure and get that victory?
"Thank you. I think we started a little bit soft, being the kind of game that it was, like a final for us. Like you said, if we lost, we would have been eliminated. We had not competed in a month and we paid the price in the beginning of the game. Little by little, we got into the game and started being more aggressive on defense, switching more, and that allowed us to run and share the ball a little bit more. We took the lead early in the fourth quarter. Mornar had a strong start, but once they saw themselves trailing, it was hard for them to bounce back."
"We play at home and depend on ourselves."
That win, combined with MoraBanc Andorra's loss, gives you full control of the situation. If you beat UNICS Kazan, you will be in the playoffs. Even though UNICS has been strong until now, it is surely good news to control your destiny?
"Yes, of course. We lost our opening three games in a four-team round-robin group stage, we earned the right to play the last game depending on our own result. It is true that we play against the best team in the group, UNICS is still undefeated, but we play at home and depend on ourselves. We will do all we can to make it to the EuroCup playoffs, which was our goal when the Top 16 started. We already played against them and they beat us, playing a good game. They are a physical team that plays hard and won't make things easy for us. But we reach Round 6 with playoffs options and want to make the most out of them."
UNICS is mathematically first in our group, but is fighting for the potential home-court advantage in the semifinals and the finals. Is that an added problem in such a critical situation?
"Yes, probably. We were watching the game between Olimpija and Virtus the other day, which went to overtime, and we were all rooting for Olimpija so that UNICS did not need a win to be the top-seeded team in the playoffs. They will give their best, I am sure, because they may have to play against Virtus in the semifinals and want the home-court advantage in that series, so it won't be easy. We don't expect UNICS to be relaxed or sit out any player. Of course, the trip will be tough, but just as tough as the one we made to Kazan, but UNICS will play at full speed."
How did Gran Canaria handle the four-week break? What allowed you to stay in shape and compete so well against Mornar?
"To tell you the truth, we didn't play the Copa del Rey tournament and the team sat out in the Spanish League round after that. There are 19 teams in the Spanish League and one sits out in every round and it was us this time. So we are probably the team that played the least during the break. Some players went to the windows and others were given a one-week holiday, which I think was really good for us to disconnect. We kept working out on our own to be physically ready when we were all together again. And once we did, for the 10 days before this game against Mornar, we practiced hard, knowing it was one of our goals to win it, getting physically and tactically ready for it."
"What my parents taught us, our personal growth, made me be the player that I am today."
A.J. Slaughter joined the team midway through the season and is seeing a lot of playing time - almost 34 minutes in Round 5. How has he helped the team since he arrived?
"He is a great player and is showing it in every game, both in the Spanish League and the EuroCup, with us and also with his national team. He is a very good player and a threat on offense, because he can also make his teammates better, reading the double-team situations opponents force him into. He is a great one-on-one shooter and is playing really well. We had signed him before the start of the season, but he couldn't come due to his heart problems. Since he arrived, he has been a very important player for us. He is playing point guard, but we can also use twin playmakers with him and Andrew Albicy. He probably played at the '2' position more often in the past, but in his last season in Sevilla and now with us, he has been playing '1' and is really generating for the team and creating his own shots, which is one of his main strengths."
Your father Jose Manuel Beiran is a sports psychologist and a former basketball star. How has he helped you in your career, on and off the court?
"My parents helped me a lot, not just my father, but also my mother. I couldn't say if the education and values they gave me can be considered as psychological work. I am always asked if my dad did some sports psychologist work on me, but other than some specific day, I didn't work with him, but my parents gave me these values since I started playing basketball as a kid. In the end, it was all about listening to him and the work he did with me and my brothers. I was the only one of us who played professional basketball, but what they taught us down the road, our personal growth, made me be the player that I am today."
Your father was an Olympic silver medalist with Spain in 1984 and you won the World Cup in 2019. Do you talk and joke about it?
"Yes, of course! When I came back from China, we had both medals in the same place and we took a nice picture together. We talked about it and compared what meant more, making it to the Olympic final or being a World Champion. On one hand, going to the Olympics, the biggest and most beautiful event as an athlete, is great... but they were second and we were first! You always want to be the champion and that is what we did in 2019. So I would keep that World Cup gold medal. I am not sure what he would pick. He would probably pick the World Cup gold medal, too, because of the winning feeling. But it is also true that the 1984 Olympic silver medal changed basketball in Spain and after that, you saw all the success that followed, with that 1980 generation and the players that were added after them."
"It is very important to be one of the best teams in the EuroCup."
You have been playing in the Canary Islands, Gran Canaria and Tenerife, for over a decade. The word out there is that you are an excellent tour guide. Is that true?
"Well, yes. I always volunteer to recommend places, not just restaurants, which I also know a lot of, but hidden places that may be overlooked by basic tour guides, both in Gran Canaria and Tenerife. I indeed like to investigate and when I have time, I love to find those hidden corners in both islands. For instance, in Gran Canaria, the Maspalomas Dunes and Roque Nublo are basic tourist spots that everybody knows, but there are many other beautiful places which I recommend visiting. When friends come to Gran Canaria, or even when friends of friends ask me, I always try to help because I have been here for many years. I have been enjoying life in the Canary Islands for 11 years and like to share what I've learned in my time off."
This is your first EuroCup season in nine years, since 2012. How great is it to be back?
"It has been growing, little by little. When I went to Tenerife, I played the Champions League and now that I came back to Gran Canaria, I was excited to be back. I remember my years in [Gran Canaria's former arena, Centro Insular de Deportes] playing in the EuroCup. I played against young players who had long careers. I remember playing against Cedevita, which had Damjan Rudez, Dontaye Draper and Bracey Wright. Rudez went on to play in Zaragoza and then in the NBA. I am mentioning him because he scored 12 three-pointers combined in back-to-back games against us. Draper would play one-on-one and find him all the time. And like him, I played against many other players who had great potential and ended up playing in stronger teams. That makes the competition more prestigious. The EuroCup has very strong teams and a clear idea of where it stands. I am enjoying it a lot."
Last but not least, Gran Canaria is a classic team in the competition and gives the EuroCup a lot of value. What would it mean for the club, and for you, to reach the playoffs and fight for the title?
"Personally, and for the club, it is very important to be one of the best teams in the EuroCup. Right now, in the Spanish League, we are not in a situation in the standings which would allow us to qualify for European competition, so we need to improve, but at the same time, we need to reach as deep as possible in the EuroCup. We believe that by playing in the EuroCup playoffs, we can be a dangerous team. We have been improving since the beginning of the season. If we managed to beat UNICS and make it the playoffs, we can reach far and dream of repeating the great results the club had in previous seasons."