MADRID 4 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
La Laguna Tenerife beat Surne Bilbao Basket (86-75) this Saturday on matchday 15 of the Endesa League to mathematically seal their presence in the Copa del Rey, while Unicaja fulfilled the fight for leadership with an 85 -71 on a Casademont Zaragoza that aspires to be in the cup event.
The Txus Vidorreta team overcame a good start by the Basques in La Laguna to fulfill the opportunity to get the ticket to Gran Canaria, where the Cup will be held from February 13 to 16. The Canaries adjusted their defense and found the perfect duo of Marcelinho Huertas, 18 points and 8 assists, and Giorgi Shermadini (16 points), as well as David Kramer and Joan Sastre.
The local blow came after the break, with a 27-15 run that gave the reins to a Tenerife determined towards its ninth consecutive presence in the Cup with the eleventh victory. In Las Palmas, after adding the eighth, BAXI Manresa still dreams of being there, four places are still open, after beating (80-74) a UCAM Murcia completely beaten in that ambition.
Derrick Alston Jr. had 13 points, 8 rebounds and a PIR of 25 to wake up a Manresa team that was trailing off from a bad start. With 6 of 30 in triples, 0 of 6 in the last quarter, UCAM Murcia looked helpless despite not being far on the scoreboard.
Unicaja, for its part, once again showed its great choral level and distributed its efforts and quality to sleep as a solo leader while waiting for what Valencia Basket does. Ibon Navarro’s team increased their chances of being seeded in the Copa del Rey with up to six players in double-digit ratings.
Dylan Osetkowski led the way with 10 points in the first quarter for Martín Carpena who enjoyed his team always being ahead. Tyson Pérez, with 11 points, 10 rebounds and a PIR of 22, was the best for a Unicaja team that was close to a 20-point lead in the last quarter against a Zaragoza team that was lowering its level away from home.
Below in the table, Río Breogán and Bàsquet Girona added balmy victories against MoraBanc Andorra (93-101) and Hiopos Lleida (85-90). The Galician team broke its three-point record with 16 hits and a stellar Darrun Hilliard (28 points) took his team out of the relegation spots. Meanwhile, bottom team Girona won a direct duel in Lleida, the first victory with Moncho Fernández, with the decisive performance of Ike Iroegbu and Máximo Fjellerup.