By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Reversing the situation in the second half, Cazoo Baskonia topped Real Madrid, 95-88, Sunday.
Markus Howard netting 11 of his 19 points after the break paved the way to prevail in WiZink Center. Max Heidegger followed with 16 points and Vanja Marinkovic logged seven of his 15 points in the back-and-forth fourth quarter. On the opposite end, Gabriel Deck scored a game-high 21 points but to no avail.
Despite trailing in double-digits for most of the first half, Joan Penarroya’s side stormed back and led for large chunks of the second half. Scoring ten of the last 12 points finally knocked out the reigning champions of Spain’s Liga Endesa in Regular Season Round 23.
Fourth win in as many games versus the Whites in the 2022-23 season, including two straight in Spain’s capital. Both teams at 19-4 shaped a three-way tie with FC Barcelona in the first place of the ACB standings.
Daulton Hommes was left out of the lineup and Dani Diez served the first part of his two-game suspension. Pierria Henry (suspension) and Tadas Sedekerskis (leg) were also unavailable for Baskonia. Nigel Williams-Goss (thigh), Anthony Randolph (knee), Carlos Alocen (knee), and Sergio Llull (knee) were sidelined for the team coached by Chus Mateo.
Barcelona’s late surge stuns Unicaja
Despite a slow start in Malaga, Barca defeated Unicaja, 86-81, en route to the 19-4 W-L tally.
Tomas Satoransky and Nicolas Laprovittola both put in 16 points. The Czech guard hit the long-range dagger for a six-point cushion with 1:33 on the clock. Argentine counterpart Laprovittola dished nine assists, including the helper in Satoransky’s clutch shot. For the losing side, Kendrick Perry tallied a game-high 19 points.
Cory Higgins (back), Sergi Martinez (left knee), and Oscar da Silva (back) did not dress for the team coached by Sarunas Jasikevicius.
At La Fonteta, Valencia defeated Coviran Granada, 80-72, with Klemen Prepelic suffering a calf injury. Earlier, Marc Gasol registered 18 points but did not prevent Girona from losing, 84-77, at Surne Bilbao.
41 points by Harding
Jerrick Harding had a game to remember in the 91-84 over Real Betis by scoring 41 points.
It was the fifth best scoring performance of this century in the Spanish Liga Endesa, while Harding had a career-high, got MVP of the round honors and also his team got a crucial win in their effort to avoid relegation.
ACB Round 23
BAXI Manresa – Real Betis 91-84
Monbus Obradoiro – Lenovo Tenerife 58-78
Joventut Badalona – Carplus Fuenlabrada 103-86
Gran Canaria – UCAM Murcia 107-89
Rio Breogan – Casademont Zaragoza 71-87
Surne Bilbao – Girona 84-77
Unicaja – FC Barcelona 81-86
Valencia – Coviran Granada 80-72
Real Madrid – Cazoo Baskonia 88-95
STANDINGS: Real Madrid 19-4, Barcelona 19-4, Baskonia 19-4, Tenerife 16-6, Badalona 15-8…