The Efficiency of Romanian Players, Compared Between the Two National Competitions: Romanian Cup and National League, During the 2021-2022 Season

Premises: Completing this kind of research is making it easier to gather, process and analyse these types of data to create a database that would house all the information related to the players' behaviour and tendencies and help coaches take objective decisions in real time during games. Subject of research: All data and analysis were completed based on three Romanian players, part of the U-BT Cluj-Napoca basketball team, during the 2021-2022 season, and their performance in both the Romanian Cup and the National League competitions. Method: The research was completed based on main and relevant reference points from the already published literature. Data collection was done through examination and recording of key parameters specific to the game of basketball. The subsequent analysis of data was completed utilizing statistical and mathematical methods. Hypothesis: Documenting and understanding the various tendencies within their play for the members within the team are critical for a coach to be able to make robust decisions. Comparing and studying the player's performances and results in competition games allows for a better, realistic appreciation of each player's contribution and role within the team, which in turn makes the coach’s decisions optimal. Results: The statistics for the young Romanian players (U23) – shooting percentages, offensive and defensive rebounds, interceptions, blocks, assists, turnovers, points scored are presented and analysed. Based on that, a comparative model was completed regarding the performance of the Romanian players in the respective two national competitions: Romanian Cup and National League, that have different rules related to number and presence of Romanian players in the game, throughout the game. In the Romanian Cup, the rule says that each team must play with two (2) Romanian players on the field for the entire game, of which at least one is under 23 years old, compared to the National League where the rule says that each team should play with at least one (1) Romanian player on the field the entire game, and additionally the player should be under 23 years old during the 1st and 2nd quarter and the 2nd quarter. Conclusion: Observing, recording, processing, and analysing data/statistics of the game provides the coach with objective data which he can use to better know the players, the overall evolution of the team and thus make more correct decisions during games. The comparative analysis of the data shows that, in the Romanian Cup, the players have a better game performance, due to the more playing time compared to the National League, where the playing time is reduced by half. By adopting the rules used in the Romanian Cup, the efficiency of young players increases, thus contributing to raising the value of the team and implicitly to increasing the value of native players for representative teams. Keywords: basketball, players, men, Cluj-Napoca, Romanian Cup, National League.