Lagun Aro GBC managed to secure one of the final spots for the ACB playoffs after beating Banca Civica 61-65. Still without Paul Davis, the Sevillian team was unable to win in a low-scoring game that was decided in the final minutes. Salgado and Baron were the best players on the court.
Banca Civica needs Davis. He’s the offensive reference, and without him the team finds really hard to score. For example, in the second quarter, it took them five minutes to score the first shoot. Joan Plaza knew this, and since Lagun Aro is one the more offensive teams in the league, he tried to control the pace of the game with long attacks, searching a low score. This slow game created a cold atmosphere that was transmitted to the local fans, making the game really boring.
This tactic worked well until the third quarter, when the visiting team got a 13 point lead thanks partially to a couple of strange calls by the referees in favor of the visiting team. Ironically, this was bad for Lagun Aro since the public suddenly got involved in the game, shouting at every foul call and helping Banca Civica to play its best basketball, enough to lead the game after some uncertain minutes. Anyway, Baron netted a couple of killing three-pointers to tie the game in the final minutes.
And then it was the time for Javi Salgado and the uninvited Peter Lorant to put their team ahead again, making Calloway’s efforts useless. It was a pity, since it was an important game for Banca Civica to keep dreaming for fourth place in the league, which gives home advantage in the playoffs.
Let’s hope Davis will recover soon for the playoffs, because although he sometimes lose his head, this team really needs him. Moreover, Plaza could also use his players in a more correct way, for example giving English more minutes, instead of sending him to the bench when misses a couple of shoots. There is no time left, because playoffs are already here…
61 – Banca Cívica (13+13+14+21): Calloway (14), Urtasun (7), Sastre (2), Bogdanovic (6), Triguero (4) -starting five-, Tepic (7), Satoransky (2), Jasen (-), Guille Rubio (9), English (10).
65 – Lagun Aro GBC (11+16+16+22): Salgado (15), Papamakarios (6), Sergi Vidal (5), Panko (9), Betts (3) -starting five-, Baron (13), Lorant (8), Neto (4), Doblas (2).
