By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
With multiple familiar faces going against FC Barcelona, the Blaugrana held on for the win, 72-69, against Girona Sunday.
Among the returnees, Marc Gasol entered Palau to a standing ovation and made out a nine-point effort for the visitors in the Liga Endesa Regular Season Round 7 contest. Also, former Barca captain Pierre Oriola was honored by the hosts. The team guided by ex-Barca play-caller Aito Garcia Reneses was on the verge of coming back from a seemingly impossible situation but failed to reduce the deficit below three points down the stretch.
For the team coached by Sarunas Jasikevicius, Oscar da Silva was the top performer. He scored 16 points behind 9/10 field goals, including 3/5 from beyond the arc. Jan Vesely added 14 points and Cory Higgins had 13 points. Mike Tobey and Kyle Kuric (head) sat out along with Sergi Martinez (knee) and Nikola Mirotic (Achilles).
Zaragoza stuns Madrid
Barcelona’s archrival Real Madrid was forced down to 5-2 by Casademont Zaragoza. Coming in at 0-6, the home side enjoyed the former Boise State standout Justinian Jessup knocking in 28 points with 9/17 field goals, including four triples, alongside six rebounds and three assists for the night.
Head coach Chus Mateo missed Carlos Alocen (knee), Fabien Causeur (knee), Rudy Fernandez (wrist), Anthony Randolph (knee), and Nigel Williams Goss (foot). His side trailed in double-digits most of the way with a late rally falling short. Mario Hezonja and Sergio Llull logged 17 points each, and Dzanan Musa finished with 16 points.
With action spilling into overtime, Cazoo Baskonia extended the domestic league winning streak to four games by outlasting Real Betis, 107-103. Markus Howard dropped seven of his 29 points in the extra period. Steven Enoch (ankle) remained on the injury list for the team guided by Joan Penarroya.
Fellow Turkish EuroLeague participant Valencia rallied in the fourth quarter to earn the win, 88-83, against Rio Breogan. Captain Bojan Dubljevic took over tallying 13 of his 18 points in the last ten minutes and Chris Jones registered a game-high 24 points. Martin Hermannsson (knee), Jasiel Rivero (calf), and Sam Van Rossom (knee) remained unavailable for head coach Alex Mumbru.
ACB Round 7:
Carplus Fuenlabrada – Baxi Manresa 101-97
Monbus Obradoiro – Gran Canaria 58-85
UCAM Murcia – Joventut Badalona 88-76
Unicaja – Coviran Granada 94-68
Lenovo Tenerife – Surne Bilbao 73-57
FC Barcelona – Girona 72-69
Cazoo Baskonia – Real Betis 107-103 OT (91-91)
Casademont Zaragoza – Real Madrid 94-89
Rio Breogan – Valencia 83-88
STANDINGS: Lenovo Tenerife 6-1, FC Barcelona 6-1, Gran Canaria 5-2, Real Madrid 5-2, Cazoo Baskonia 5-2…
Photo Credit: Barca Basket Twitter