By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
It is game that is considered to be some sort of a regional derby but the differences between the two teams are almost chaotic in terms of quality, roster depth, budget and experience. Even though Real Madrid was the heavy favorite, Fuenlabrada grabbed a huge victory thanks to vital resilience near the end and nerves of steel. Alex Urtasun, in particular, showed great character becoming the ultimate hero for his team. The shooting guard from Pamplona made the massively important 3pointer with only seconds to go and the score 84 – 85 that put his team in the driver’s seat until the final buzzer. He had 0/4 from downtown until then and 0/5 field goals in general.
Before that, the referees had given a kingly gift… to the “Queen”, by calling a defensive foul on David Wear, in a play when Anders Nocioni elbowed him on the face. But ultimately, the gods of basketball decided that Fuenlabrada will celebrate this night. After this result, Real Madrid has fallen in the fourth place of the standings, while Fuenlabrada “smells” the taste of the playoff spots.
If anyone expected Gran Canaria to heavily resist against Barcelona, he was quite wrong. In Juan Carlos Navarro’s 622 game with the Catalans in ACB, Xavi Pascual’s squad dominated the stage of the match and. But that is what usually happens when his brilliantly calculated plays are reflected on court. Barcelona’s forwards exploded and the hosts could simply not hold back the storm that their opponents brought in Las Palmas.
Unicaja Malaga took it from where it left it in Euroleague, with another brilliant offensive show, victimizing San Sebastian. Bilbao returned to form in Manresa, while one of the most pleasant surprises of the season, Andorra, showed great consistency against Sevilla.
Valencia keeps expanding the boundaries of its amazing streak, while Tenerife escaped Obradoiro with an impressive win. As for Laboral Kutxa, the Basques dominated Badalona to climb above Real Madrid in the standings, while Murcia keeps improving its basketball, as it is evident by the victory against Estudiantes. If Augusto Lima was not bound to leave for Real Madrid, things would look even brighter for Fotis Katsikaris’ squad.
Liga Endesa 2015/2016 – Week 16
Obradoiro – Tenerife (Salva Arco 20 points): 82 – 84
Andorra (Betinho Gomes 17 points) – Sevilla: 92 – 73
Valencia (Bojan Dubljevic 17 points, 9 rebounds) – Zaragoza: 81 – 74
Joventut Badalona – Laboral Kutxa (Darius Adams 18 points): 68 – 89
Murcia (Vitor Benite 19 points) – Estudiantes: 83 – 70
Unicaja Malaga (DeMarcus Nelson 16 points) – San Sebastian: 94 – 55
Manresa – Bilbao (Dairis Bertans 18 points) – 67 – 72
Fuenlabrada (Josip Sobin 24 points) – Real Madrid: 91 – 85
Gran Canaria – Barcelona (Tomas Satoransky 16 points, 6 assists): 81 – 96
