UCAM Murcia, with a great defense and a decisive Nemanja Radovic in the final stretch of the clash, beat Baxi Manresa this Sunday by 71-67 in an encounter that almost always dominated.
With this result, it is placed provisionally in fourth position in the Endesa League with seven victories and four defeats, and is approaching the Copa del Rey.
Both teams came to this appointment with the same baggage after ten days and a fight without quarter was expected as it started being.
They squeezed the most back and failed all their attacks during the first three minutes of a duel played with great intensity and little success in its initial phase. Not surprisingly, the first quarter ended with an improper result for professional basketball (14-8) and with UCAM reaching the first scheduled stoppage with a 10-2 run in the last two minutes.
Those of Sito Alonso were more focused than those of Pedro Martínez and the college advantage continued to grow in the second period (28-16) after two classy baskets by Isaiah Taylor and Jordan Davis.
The visiting coach stopped the game with a time-out but the defensive activity of the home team did not stop and that allowed them to double their opponent (32-16).
However, from then on a visitor reaction shortened the figures to reach the break with a 32-26 and an open partial in favor of Baxi 0-10 with Chima Moneke and Yankuba Sima coming to the rescue of the Catalans.
The local blackout lasted two more minutes and that was continued by his rival to get closer to 32-31 after a triple by Joe Thomasson and later to go ahead with 39-40 that came after a basket from Ismael Bako.
Bako himself, doing damage in the area, led Baxi in this phase of the match in which there were alternations on the scoreboard, but UCAM finished the fourth better coinciding with the awakening of Thad McFadden and Radovic (55-50).
In the final ten minutes those of Sito Alonso stood firm and, despite the good individual actions of Moneke, they took the initiative to be close to sentencing with three minutes and 20 seconds left (66-57) and with Radovic seeing the hoop very large.
Unlike what happened the previous Saturday in Andorra, UCAM, the league’s highest-scoring team, showed serenity and that led to the victory, giving a defensive display in a not so prolific afternoon in points.
ABSTRACT
71 – UCAM Murcia Club Baloncesto (14 + 18 + 23 + 16): Taylor (8), Davis (7), Rojas (3), Webb (8) and Lima (6) -starting team-, Bellas (2), Malmanis (-), Radovic (17), McFadden (6) Cate ( 9) and Czerapowicz (5).
67- Baxi Manresa (8 + 18 + 24 + 17): Sylvain Francisco (-), Thomasson (14), Valtonen (3), Moneke (17) and Bako (18) and -starting team-, Jou (2), Dani García (4), Rafa Martínez (-), Maye ( -), Dani Pérez (3) and Sima (6).
Referees: Emilio Pérez Pizarro, Jordi Aliaga Solé and Rubén Sánchez Mohedas. Without eliminated.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the eleventh day of the Endesa League played at the Palacio de los Deportes in Murcia before 4,899 spectators.
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