By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Staying on top of the standings in Spain’s Liga Endesa, Real Madrid blew out Surne Bilbao, 86-65, in WiZink Center Sunday.
Making the most of the opportunity to display his talents was Eli Ndiaye. The promising upstart looking determined on both ends of the court, matured beyond his age, he made all of his shots for ten points in the second quarter. Adding to his tally, he went banked in a total of 14 points with 6/10 field goals, including 1/3 from beyond the arc. He also pulled down four rebounds and dished a beautiful assist late in ACB Regular Season Round 22 contest wrapping up the best showing of his young career at the senior level in style.
Players sidelined extend to Anthony Randolph (left knee), Carlos Alocen (left knee), Walter Tavares (left ankle), Sergio Llull (left knee), and Guerschon Yabusele (right ankle). Digging deeper into the squad, head coach Chus Mateo checked in the 18-year-old center for large stretches of the second and fourth quarters.
Leading all scorers, Fabien Causeur dropped 16 points and Alberto Abalde had 14 points. For Bilbao, Alex Reyes and Michale Kyser put in ten points each in unfavorable one-way traffic for the Basketball Champions League participant guided by Jaume Ponsarnau.
Martin Hermannsson in season debut
Coming out of a lengthy stint on the injury list, Martin Hermannsson made his first appearance in the 2022-23 season. The Icelandic guard hit one three-pointer and added four assists lasting 12 minutes as Valencia secured the away win over Girona, 77-70.
In contrast, Jared Harper was left out of the lineup along with Klemen Prepelic (disciplinary reasons), Jaime Pradilla (left shoulder), Sam Van Rossom (right knee), Millan Jimenez (left ankle), and Kyle Alexander (right ankle). Among available players, Xabier López-Arostegui recorded a team-high 16 points.
On the losing end, Kameron Taylor made 10/13 field goals en route to a game-high 22 points. Ageless Marc Gasol went for four points, five rebounds, and three assists.
Elsewhere on the early part of Sunday’s schedule, UCAM Murcia held on to defeat Unicaja, 85-80. Thad McFadden poured 24 points.
ACB Round 22
Coviran Granada – Gran Canaria 80-66
Lenovo Tenerife – Joventut Badalona 85-68
Casademont Zaragoza – Monbus Obradoiro 78-79
Real Madrid – Surne Bilbao 86-65
Girona – Valencia 75-79
UCAM Murcia – Unicaja 85-80
Real Betis – Cazoo Baskonia (17:00 CET)
FC Barcelona – BAXI Manresa (18:30 CET)
Carplus Fuenlabrada – Rio Breogan (20:00 CET)
STANDINGS: Real Madrid 19-3, Barca 17-4, Baskonia 17-4, Tenerife 15-6, Unicaja 14-8, Joventut Badalona 14-8…
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net