Great games, thrillers, surprising wins, several players scoring 20 points or more… A little bit of everything this weekend in Spain. Kim Tillie and Tony Gaffney are the MVPs of the week.
Satoranski led Cajasol Seville overcame Valencia Basket on the road thanks to his 16 points. The sevillian team improved to 9-14 in the league after defeating one of the top teams in Spain. Alongside the czech player, Asbury was the only player on the winning side to break into double-digits in scoring with 11 points. Thomas Kelati netted 19 points in a losing effort.
Lagun Aro GBC breathes a little better after defeating 94-90 Basquet Manresa in a key home win. The two worst teams in the league so far faced each other in a desperate way, the visiting team trying to forget its two recent injured players with DeVries scoring 22 points and Asselin adding 19. But the home team played better in the final quarter and protected a nice margin until the end, leaving it 2 wins away from avoiding relegation. On the other hand, Manresa is now 3 wins away from its target.
Caja Laboral took home a very valuable win after downing FC Barcelona Regal 67-69. Fabien Causeur scored 18 and Maciej Lampe added 16 points to secure their team the second place in the league with a five wins margin over Barcelona, which missed Navarro on scoring.
Blusens Monbus continues the race to reach the playoffs after besting Cai Zaragoza at home 72-64. Up to 5 players got double digits in scoring, with former Purdue star Robbie Hummel as the leader. Pavel Pumprla continues to become one of the best forwards in the league, while surprising Salah Mejri is a dominant force inside. Michael Roll netted 20 points for the visiting team but couln’d avoid the defeat.
Unicaja Malaga won a thriller over Uxue Bilbao 63-59. Krunoslav Simon led the home team to keep fighting for the playoffs. Both Vasileiadis and Mumbrú scored 17 points each but it was not enough to make up for a 13 total rebounds deficit.
James Feldeine score 29 points to give Mad-Crod Fuenlabrada an important win over Fiatc Joventut on the road. Rob Kurz added 18 points and grabbed 7 rebounds to face Corey Fisher and Tony Gaffney, who scored 25 and 24 points each. Great basketball game with a crazy last quarter when both teams combined to score 57 points. The final result was 86-92.
Real Madrid continues to be the strongest team in Spain, almost unbeatable, and dominated Ucam Murcia 86-69. Nikola Mirotic and Marcus Slaughter dominated in the paint, while Kim Tillie did his best with little help from Marcus Lewis, who didn’t play up to his real level.
Herbalife Gran Canaria downed 78-70 its neighbour CB Canarias thanks to Ryan Toolson, who scored 22 points and the visiting team’s bad three-pointer percentage, which went 4 for 24 from behind the arc. Xavi Rey is becoming to be what he used to last season after being injured several months.
Blancos de Rueda Valladolid arrived to Madrid with its new point guard, the Argentinean Antonio Porta, and took the win home thanks to a great game, once again, by Nacho Martin, who scored 22 points. But the key player was Jordi Grimau, who contributed with 18 points and 7 rebounds, and helped his team to forget Othello Hunter, who didn’t play for the second time in a row due to lack of payments. Carl English returned to play with Asefa Estudiantes but his 19 points were not enough. The game ended 77-80, with the visiting team protecting its margin in the final quarter.
The MVPs of the week are Kim Tillie and Tony Gaffney despite of their losing efforts. Real Madrid continues to dominate the league, with 22 wins and only 1 defeat. Caja Laboral improved to 19-4 while FC Barcelona Regal will find difficult to reach the second place. Asefa Estudiantes stays in the eighth place, the last position to reach playoffs, with Blusens Monbus, Unicaja and Fiatc Joventut trying to replace it. Lagun Aro GBC is now 2 wins away from avoiding relegation.
Next week more!
