Betis Baloncesto escapes all ambushes (86-77)

The team started very badly. Hypotensive, maladjusted, with missing marks, which neither tightened inside nor outside. Without a specific five, only Nweke was a bit intimidating on the inside, Alimerka Oviedo played the outside shot. As expected on the other hand, it would not be because Betis was not warned. Because that game plan was broken down by the Betic coach in the preview. In seven minutes, the green and white defense, a drain, swallowed 24 points, 18 through the triple in a spectacular series of 6/9, with four of them from Menuge. There was a timeout for Betis at 17-24, but the team couldn’t find any sensations. It transmitted little. Nor did he improve with the change of base (to Cvetkovic court). Each basket cost blood. Two were added by stonecutter Rubén López, but Oviedo bordered its splendid first quarter with its seventh outside goal (Duscak) of ten attempts (21-29). There was a lot left, three quarters of the footage, but Betis could not continue in that dynamic.

I had to react. Play keys, increase your intensity, raise your success levels and redouble your defensive capacity, in those moments too lax. Oviedo protected itself with an area and Betis had a hard time interpreting it, so Gonzalo activated the two point guards: Renfroe and Cvetkovic at the helm. The coach had to think very carefully about the rotation with only eight men available. Erratic in his shot, Cvetkovic was also out of tune, Betis did a lot to hold on in the evening (26-34). It was a moment to survive without losing composure, trusting that the match would change in their favor as the minutes passed. Sometimes, this happens because the igniting equipment is running out of gunpowder. At 29-36, Cvetkovic and DeBisschop finally met to pierce Carbayona’s zonal defense. Blessed pick & roll. Betis Baloncesto worked in fits and starts, without that point of fluidity and emotional boiling that comes with connecting three attacks in a row. Hutchinson warmed up and increased the difference to 14 (33-47) with the ninth triple of 14 attempts.

Betis, on the other hand, was really at odds with the rim (2/11 from 6.75 meters). Benite barely made one of his six triples. Without gunpowder and with that spongy defense, Betis had nothing to do against an Oviedo in a trance. To make matters worse, Rubén López was whistled for a technical flopping (34-48). Cvetkovic’s magic wand did not work, Benite’s triples did not arrive, there was little news about Hughes and only with the struggle of Rubén and DeBisschop did they not come back. Betis failed easily, needing a complete reset at halftime. At least, they left the deficit at ten (38-48). The damage seemed little given how poorly the green and white players played the first two rounds. His 36% in field goals and his 18% in triples contrasted with the 53% and 56% (9/16) of his rival in both sections. The Betic choir game was cancelled, that was the main reason why it was shipwrecked, and the most outstanding player was then DeBisschop, with nine points and six rebounds.

Orchestrating the comeback

Accustomed to solving complicated ballots, Betis had another Rubbik cube to sort out in 20 minutes. Three triples in a row by Betis countered eight points from Lobaco and seemed to light the fuse of the comeback. As they plugged in, the green-and-white energy bar filled up and the team activated its defense (49-56). Renfroe capitalized on the entire offensive game. He assisted and scored, with the stripes on his chest. He himself adjusted even more (51-56) and Oviedo stopped him after a 13-8 run in four minutes. Betis pulled on their board, sealing the rebound and reducing Oviedo’s easy baskets to zero.

As a result of that work, Rubén López added the third foul and Gonzalo changed the pair of centers, giving a reel to Domènech and Kasibabu. Renfroe continued to make money (54-57), but Oviedo, far from folding, went down into the mud, forcing contacts and going for the free kick. The merit of the visitors was to maintain their poise against the attacks of Betis and cooled the atmosphere again (53-63, m. 27). Once again the hosts raised their defensive temperature and Doménech answered Hutchinson from the triple. Betis was five (61-66) with the last quarter remaining, regretting its mistakes in the free throw. Benite finally appeared with five points in a row (66-68) to welcome the last quarter and the comeback was already in sight. On a night of little scoring clairvoyance, Betis was achieving everything from the defense, pushing themselves until they short-circuited their rival, who was increasingly suffocated. From a recovery by Hughes, a triple from the American (69-68) that, after many minutes, turned the result around.

De Bisschop crushed (71-68) and, after a lot of grinding, put Betis in the right direction. The already known victory. There was downtime, but there was already a feeling that Oviedo was running out of inventory resources. The one from Betis Baloncesto has the bottom of Doraemon’s pocket. There is always an ace up your sleeve no matter how scarce the resources are. Indestructible, the team’s armor can withstand anything. The partial grew to 14-2 (75-68). With an excellent defense, catching one rebound after another, Betis knocked down grumbling but already out of breath. Renfroe lit up San Pablo with a triple (80-75), DeBisschop expanded (83-75) and with 5 seconds, after a timeout, Oviedo gave the ball away on the serve and handed the victory on a plate to an unapproachable Betis Baloncesto at home.