Ubal is yet another project from Barcelona sprinkled in La Masia. He shared a room with goalkeeper Ander Astralaga, a 17-year-old native of Berango, an Under-19 international who plays for Juvenil and has made his debut with the culé subsidiary. He is the brother of Eunate, who plays for Athletic. The plague of injuries at Bilbao Basket have allowed the point guard to raise his head in Miribilla well above the little he could highlight last year in another assignment, in this case to Lugo, to a Breogán de Musa who was shot, like a motorcycle, and where it was very difficult to get into gear and be at that level. He loves Bilbao “for example, the gastronomy, the steaks”, he smiles, and he wouldn’t mind extending his stay for another year. “It would be nice to stay if they give me more prominence,” he explains on a visit to Radio Bilbao. The young game director is already aware that some NBA clubs have spied on him, but he goes step by step, “I’m comfortable, but one ends up getting dizzy and confused if he thinks about what he shouldn’t.” “I really appreciate the love. It has never happened to me that they chant that ‘Uruguasho, uruguasho…’. I feel happy to connect with the stands like this, that they support me when I play well, ”he remarks, alluding to one of the rallying cries from the Bilbao stands.
His courage and audacity have made people fall in love, as happened before with the Kostas, Jackson, Banic, Salgado… For now he leads the ACB vote for Best Young Player, with 25.7 percent support, followed by Aday Mara (Zaragoza) with 17.2 percent and Montero (Betis), with 11.2 percent. “La Masia gave me everything, I am grateful, because they shaped me as a person and as an athlete,” he thanks. But as soon as a pearl from the Blaugrana quarry stands out, he goes to the NBA, they barely enjoy it at the Palau. He has gone through many, the last one, Bolmaro. “The experience, the growth and the treatment you receive stay with you forever and they know that if you return one day, they will be the first to be considered,” adds the South American point guard.
“I try to take advantage of the moment, every second, the minutes they give me”, sums up someone who started the preseason with problems due to a virus. He had a good rhythm after playing the AmeriCup and spent a month without leaving home. Now he is fine again. For four years he has been acting as a point guard and he loves controlling the game “having the ball in hand”. “I like to score, direct and give a couple of fights to someone,” he jokes. He has noticed in his career players like Calathes, Nando de Colo and Satoransky. Although he still has things to polish, such as having better readings of the game and plowing the shot more quickly: “I must learn to manage time better, not go crazy, Don’t let them say: ‘That’s it and all of them, revolutionized. I like to generate play and I must improve my shot from three”. Against Barcelona he was very motivated, “When they threw the ball into the air, he wanted to catch it and shoot it up, but he didn’t feel like he had to prove anything, Barça already knows how I am. I wanted to win, I contributed a lot and we won, so the day turned out well”.
Ubal makes it very clear: “I’m not afraid of anything.” It can be summed up in the times that he faces any rival that he sees in front of him, all you have to do is take a look at his one-on-one against Tavares, hitting his hip when penetrating to destabilize the Madrid giant enough so that he does not block him. And there is no lack of self-criticism in his speech: “The defeat in Fuenlabrada is unacceptable for us and for our people. It can’t happen again. When Ponsarnau’s team has played to keep thinking about the Cup, against Girona, or look into the eyes of the playoff, in Fuenlabrada, it has failed. “I don’t know if it’s vertigo, more like a missed opportunity. I am optimistic, we have to face what we have left at home in the best way and try to win a game away ”, he alludes to the setback last weekend on the bottom field. The ‘men in black’ have not won a game away since December 17, in Manresa. They accumulate a whopping eight defeats at home. At home it is another song.