TAMPERE (Finland) - Spain is one of the perennial powerhouses of FIBA U18 EuroBasket, having made the Final in four of the last five editions of the tournament. With the right mix of winning pedigree and a star-studded roster highlighted by projected NBA Draft pick Hugo Gonzalez, they were not expected to come out of the Group Phase with only a 1-2 record.
Is it time to hit the panic button? Not just yet. Especially when they have Mario Saint-Supery performing at an MVP level. The Unicaja guard leads the tournament in scoring, averaging 23.0 points per game, and ranks in the top three in both assists and steals per game.
While impressive, this level of play from Saint-Supery was not unexpected. He was named MVP of the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, and he's one of Spain's most experienced players at the professional level.
In 2022, the Spanish guard became the youngest player to ever see the floor for Unicaja in the Spanish ACB, at just 15-years-old, and after two seasons of impressive, albeit sporadic, appearances in Malaga, Saint-Supery was loaned out to Tizona Burgos in the Spanish second division where he exploded during the 2023-24 season - averaging 11.0 points and 2.5 assists in just 18 minutes per game, while shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 41.0 percent from three-point range.
In this Player Spotlight, we'll look at Saint-Supery's play during the Group Phase, and how his vast experience has influenced his approach to the game.
OFFENSE - Skill beyond his years
Saint-Supery plays like a true veteran with the ball in his hands. Standing at 1.90m and lacking elite levels of burst and strength, it can be difficult for Saint-Supery to create separation from opponents out of sheer quickness or physicality, but the Unicaja guard knows exactly how to compensate for his limitations with his polish, creativity and poise under pressure.
The first thing that stands out about Saint-Supery is his ability to control the tempo of the offense, playing at his own pace and not being easily rattled or rushed into decisions. The Spanish guard is a creative and smooth ball-handler who is comfortable playing in traffic and is able to dribble his way out of defensive pressure, always having a counter move to anything the defense throws at him.
Saint-Supery is able to beat opposing defenders and get into the teeth of the defense consistently by utilizing screens to his advantage. Once he gets downhill, the 18 year old is able to get to his spots in the paint with his sound footwork, his ability to change directions with the ball in his hands and the array of simple-but-effective dribble moves that he's able to string together such as crossovers, in-and-outs and off-beat dribbles.
Despite not possessing an elite level of explosiveness, Saint-Supery plays with a good level of suddenness and can shift into another gear, creating enough momentum to get to the paint and finish around the basket. His change of pace also allows him to catch defenders off position and bait them into fouls, getting to the free-throw line at a good rate.
The paint is not the only area of the floor where Saint-Supery can make an impact; he's also an excellent shooter. He converted 43.7 percent of his 5.3 three-point attempts per game during the Group Phase, which aligns with his recent track record, as he shot over 40 percent from beyond the arc in both his most recent season at the club level in the Spanish second division and in last year's FIBA U18 EuroBasket.
Saint-Supery is not just an efficient shooter but also a versatile one. Most of his jumpers are off-the-dribble and he's able to hit those off-movement jumpers with consistency, showing an impressive ability to quickly set his feet and step into pull-up jumpers both out of pick-and-roll and transition situations with tremendous confidence.
The biggest leap in the tournament for Saint-Supery has been the passing. The Unicaja guard generally plays closer to a combo guard role who can act as a secondary playmaker, but Saint-Supery has shown clear growth in this area during the tournament: averaging 6.3 assists per game, which is the third-most by any player during the Group Phase and marks a clear growth from his average of 1.6 assists per game at last year's U18 EuroBasket.
The flashes are certainly there for Saint-Supery, who has shown with his occasional advanced reads and skip passes to open teammates in the weak side of the floor, that he is capable of more than the drive-and-kick passes that were the bread and butter of his playmaking for others.
DEFENSE - Perimeter Impact
Due to his lack of elite size, Saint-Supery is primarily tasked with guarding backcourt players, but that doesn't deter him from making an impact on the defensive end of the floor. The Unicaja guard is particularly impressive at moving his feet and utilizing his length to stay in front of opponents in drives and contest shots both around the basket and in the perimeter.
Saint-Supery has been able to create events, being one of the most prolific rebounders from the guard position in the tournament, as well as generating turnovers, with his 2.7 steals per game ranking him second among all players during the Group Phase.
As much as Saint-Supery plays like a veteran, there are times where his defensive play reflects his age, as he has a tendency to overreact to opposing ball-handlers and not take the right angles, which can make it difficult for him to recover when he gets attacked off-the-dribble.
OUTLOOK
Saint-Supery and Spain are coming off back-to-back Finals losses at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022 and the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023, but the impact that Saint-Supery made for Spain during the Group Phase makes one thing clear: this team will go as far as Saint-Supery takes them.
Their 1-2 record might be concerning, but make no mistake, with the level of scoring, playmaking and perimeter defense that the Unicaja guard is providing for Spain, they should be considered a threat to contend for the title as long as they have Saint-Supery on the floor.
FIBA