By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Barcelona dominated the last team in the standing, while Real Madrid got back in the winning track, albeit not without worrying a bit first. Meanwhile, Unicaja Malaga found two x-factors in the fourth period in order to beat Bilbao after a fiery, last minutes comeback.
Unicaja Malaga (13-12) seems to have recovered its strength in Liga Endesa, achieving its third consecutive victory by downing Bilbao (12-13) thanks to a mighty comeback from a -10 deficit in the last five minutes of the game. Kenny Hayes and Nemanja Nedovic combined for 19 out of their team’s 34 points scored in the fourth quarter turning the tables upside down in the favor of the Andalusians that are now seventh in the standings. What is more, the new addition of Hayes seems to work like a charm for Juan Plaza’s style.
The other derby of the week took place in Las Palmas, where Gran Canaria (16-9) hosted Laboral Kutxa (18-7). While the two teams were really close in the first period, the duo of Giannis Bourousis and Darko Planinic proved to be quite formidable inside the paint, helping the Basques to finish the first half ahead of the score, 41 – 47. With Kevin Pangos acting as a beacon of creativity, the hosts stormed into the third period balancing the game once more.
The match became a thriller during the last minutes when Mike James tied the score to make it 87 – 87 with one minute to go. The guests lost two crucial shots from behind the arc, while Gran Canaria played smart and was accurate enough from the free throw line, to be ahead of the score at the final buzzer, since James missed the last second shot attempted to force an overtime.
Barcelona (23-2) still prevails as first after cruising through San Sebastian (4-21) with ease. Coach Xavi Pascual divided the time to many of his players and expanded the rotation in order to keep them rested, and warm, for the tough Euroleague games ahead.
The “Bats” of Valencia (22-3) flew high over Corruna, dominating Obradoiro (8-17) to remain second, and at a distance from Real Madrid, in the standings. Thanks to a diverse team output, since five different players scored in double digit numbers, Valencia was consistent enough to not let Obradoiro foil its winning plans.
With no less than 17 three-pointers, Real Madrid (20-5) rained down fire and brimstone from behind the arc over Zaragoza, (7-18) and returned to victories. Even though the Madridistas loosened up way too much in the last quarter, giving the chance to their opponents to decrease the deficit from 19 points to 4, they stayed out of serious trouble.
Liga Endesa 2015/2016 – Day 25th
Andorra – Fuenlabrada (Jonathan Tabu 34 p., 6 a.): 80 – 89
Estudiantes – Tenerife (Tim Abromaitis 23 p. 5 r.) : 80 – 84
Obradoiro – Valencia (Justin Hamilton 17 p. 7 r.) : 79 – 91
San Sebastian – Barcelona (Sasa Vezenkov 15 p. 8 r.) : 69 – 84
Gran Canaria (Alen Omic 16 p. 7 r.) – Laboral Kutxa: 93 – 90
Real Madrid (Jaycee Carroll 16 p.) – Zaragoza: 96 – 84
Murcia (Carlos Cabezas 16 p. 6 a.) – Sevilla: 80 – 76
Unicaja Malaga (Will Thomas 16 p. 9 r.) – Bilbao: 82 – 77