Baskonia and Joventut open fire in the Buesa
BARCELONA, 26 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Cazoo Baskonia and Club Joventut Badalona open the Endesa League Playoffs this Saturday with a first duel, in their quarterfinal crossover for the best of three games, at the Buesa Arena (6:30 p.m.) where the Baskonistas start, being the best scorer of the Regular League, with an advantage against a ‘Penya’ in crisis but that will not give up easily.
Based on the showy game played so far, their good run of results, being second in the Regular League and having two members of the Best Acb Quintet of the course, Baskonia starts as favorites in a quarterfinal match that they reach, Also, in good shape and tune.
Joan Peñarroya’s players signed a record of 28 wins and 6 losses in the Endesa League, with 15 wins in 17 games at their fiefdom, the Fernando Buesa Arena fort. With the home court factor in their favour, the Baskonistas are looking for a new victory on which to cement their claim to the Endesa League.
In front they will have a ‘Penya’ who is always combative, but who arrives at a bad time with six defeats in the last seven days of the Regular League. A bad run that left them seventh in the table, far from the most privileged positions that had previously been theirs.
This first meeting of the quarterfinals will be the fourth confrontation between the Basques and the Catalans so far this year. La ‘Penya, in their Olympic, got rid of Baskonia from the last Copa del Rey in the quarterfinals, although the two acb duels were for Cazoo Baskonia, both in Vitoria and Badalona.
Despite this, and despite having significant casualties such as Pau Ribas, in addition to Henry Ellenson, the black-and-green coach, Carles Duran, is and sees the team “motivated”. “We arrived with great enthusiasm, but with little gasoline. We have a lack of players and that limits us a lot, but we are looking forward to facing this great challenge,” he said in the preview.
Of course, the green and black face a Baskonia that is the best offensive team so far this year, with 92 points per game. A lot seconded for being leaders in assists, triple shots and valuation.
And it is that the Baskonistas have in their ranks the Americans Markus Howard and Darius Thompson, in the Best Quintet of the season and who receive the award for the great season of Baskonia. Howard is the best triple shooter and second highest scorer, with his partner Thompson being the second highest assist.
Joventut, for its part, has Ante Tomic and Joel Parra in the second best five of the ACB. The Croatian has led the team in points (13), rebounds (6’2) and efficiency (17’8), very well accompanied by Parra and Andrés Feliz in a team that has stood out this season for leading the rebound in the ACB ( 38’2 per game).
DATASHEET.
–EQUIPMENT.
CAZOO BASCONY: Howard, Thompson, Sedekerskis, Hommes and Kotsar –possible starting quintet–; Heidegger, Raieste, Marinkovic, Dinez, Enoch, Costello and Kurucs.
CLUB JOVENTUT BADALONA: Feliz, Guy, Parra, Brodziansky and Tomic –possible starting five–; Kraag, Busquets, Rodríguez, Ventura, Vives and Birgander.
–REFEREES: Count, Knight and Spider.
–PAVILION: Fernando Buesa Arena.