By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Almost all favorites had their way, easily or not, in the 22th Day in Liga Endesa, especially the leaders of the standings who keep marching on.
Valencia (20-2) managed to escape from the home court of Fuenlabrada (12-10) which proved to be quite the unkind host. In what was a quite close game the “Bats” entered the final period, being ahead of the score, yet not at a safe distance. Their opponents “smelled” blood and kept being in hot pursuit until Ernest Scott made it 76 – 77 with almost 2 minutes to go. Thanks to an immediate response by Fernando San Emeterio and Rafa Martinez, Valencia scored 5 quick points, gaining crucial lead in a key moment of the match. All that was needed until the end, was accuracy from the free throw line, which captain Martinez happily provided.
Against a transformed, compared to what it has recently shown, Unicaja Malaga (10-12), Barcelona (20-2) had some serious problems in the first half, particularly when it came to stopping Jack Cooley’s action. However, coach Xavi Pascual found solutions in the faces of Stratos Perperoglou, at first, and Carlos Arroyo, later, his team gained the win that keeps them with the same record as Valencia, at the top of the standings.
The players of Real Madrid (18-4) traveled to Las Palmas in order to play against Gran Canaria (14-8), with no less than 19 (!) three-pointers in their quiver. Against such an impressive shoot-out, the hosts answered with their own brilliant offensive game that helped them go to their locker rooms being at the driver’s seat. Yet the Madridistas bettered their hosts in the third quarter and got a double digit lead, to put their wheels in motion for the upcoming victory.
While the “Basque Country” derby between Laboral Kutxa (18-4) and Bilbao (11-11) definitely attracted much attention, it was a show with only one protagonist. Laboral Kutxa was brutal on defense and exceptional on offense, giving their opponents a lot more than what they could handle, from start to finish.
Liga Endesa 2015/2016 – Day 22:
Andorra (Betinho Gomes 18 p.) – Estudiantes: 84 – 82
Gran Canaria – Real Madrid (Sergio Rodriguez 19 p. 9 a.) : 93 – 103
Fuenlabrada – Valencia (Justin Hamilton 15 p. 8 r.): 81 – 86
Joventut Badalona (Goran Suton 18 p. 7 r.) – Sevilla: 89 – 83
Murcia (Nemanja Radovic 14 p. 4 a.) – San Sebastian: 78 – 64
Zaragoza (Stefan Jelovac 14 p. 8 r.) – Tenerife: 78 – 65
Barcelona (Sasa Vezenkov 14 p. 4 r.) – Unicaja Malaga: 83 – 77
Manresa – Obradoiro (Angelo Caloiaro 23 p. 8 r.): 64 – 81
Laboral Kutxa (Darius Adams 30 p.) – Bilbao: 108 – 62