MADRID, 18 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The team led by the Spanish Pau Gasol has won the Rising Stars Challenge, the tournament between the best young players in the NBA and the G League, which opened the NBA All-Star weekend in Salt Lake City (United States). , with New Orleans Pelicans point guard José Alvarado becoming the first Latin American player to win the ‘MVP’.
‘Team Pau’ kicked off the mini-tournament with a victory over ‘Team Deron’ (40-25), led by Deron Williams, with whom the man from Sant Boi coincided in the Western Conference team at the All-Star Games in 2011 and 2012. Alvarado (13) and Orlando Magic power forward Paolo Banchero (9) scored more than half the points of the team led by the Catalan.
In the final, he faced Joakim Noah’s ‘Team Joakim’, who had previously beaten Jason Terry’s ‘Team Jason’ (40-32). The game started very evenly, although it was Gasol’s men who got the first important lead (14-9) in this short game at 25 points.
The triples of the New York Knicks player Quentin Grimes brought Noah’s closer and allowed him to equalize the duel (16-16), but before Alvarado, with a shot from three, sealed the victory (25-20).