The day Wayne Brabender "earned" to be Spanish against Spartak Brno

On May 11, 1968, Real Madrid won its fourth European basketball championship against the same team they had defeated in their first final, the then all-powerful Spartak de Brno. That day, Wayne Brabender "earned" the right to be Spanish.

He had arrived a year earlier in our country with a one-year contract and could only play in the European Cup (he couldn't play in the league because he was a foreigner). He faced criticism from the press until in that European Cup, thanks to his defensive effort, he managed to earn the full support of Ferrandiz on the bench and, after the final, of the entire Madridismo.

In the group stage, as he mentioned in a great interview in AS, he had to defend against one of the best Americans playing in the old continent at the time, Tal Brody, who averaged more than 30 points per game and whom Brabender completely shut down: holding him to just 5 points. Brabender scored 8 points himself, which unfortunately led to many criticisms. After eliminating Zadar with Pino Djerdja in the semis, they met Brno in the final with the formidable Frantisek Konvicka, one of the most dangerous sharpshooters in Europe at that time. In a single game, the benches won by 3 points, and Brabender provided solid defense against the Czech (containing him, though not completely shutting him down) and also contributed 20 crucial points in attack.

This earned him Spanish nationality to play for the national team. From then on, not even a serious knee injury could stop him: he is still in Spain almost 6 decades later after an unforgettable career.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El día que Wayne Brabender se "ganó" ser español ante el Spartak de Brno