MADRID, 3 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Unicaja took a hard-fought victory (92-86) against MoraBanc Andorra this Saturday on matchday 21 of the Endesa League to put pressure on Real Madrid for the lead, while Joventut confirmed its good moment with the victory (89-77 ) about Zunder Palencia.
The Malaga team faced a tough rival in Martín Carpena, but emerged victorious to add the 17th victory of the course, provisional leader. Ibon Navarro's men responded in a choral manner to the great game of Jean Montero (24 points and 36 PIR) and Harding (24 points) for the Andorrans.
The reaction that Djedovic and Sima commanded in the second quarter brought a Unicaja team into the game that knew how to suffer in the second half. Alberto Díaz held the Malaga flag at the restart and Carter and Taylor sealed another great afternoon for a Unicaja that does not want to lose pace two weeks before 'their' Copa del Rey.
In addition, Joventut confirmed its current good moment in the Endesa League by adding its fourth consecutive victory and putting itself with an optimal balance of 12-9 after winning 89-77 at the Olympic Stadium in Badalona over last-place Zunder Palencia to place itself in the zone of 'playoff' until the day ends.
The green-and-black team encountered resistance from the visitors in the first half. The Palencia team started off offensively and almost had a lead of ten (16-24), but could not continue this good start, but was still able to lead at half-time by a narrow margin (38-40).
However, after the restart, the 'Penya' pushed and found the offensive success that it had not had in the first 20 minutes, as reflected by the 51 points scored, before which its rival had no response, weighed down by a devastating 18-3 partial that made them lose their good advantage (42-51) and no longer be able to come back.
Meanwhile, UCAM Murcia is also in that 'Top 8' with 12-9 after beating Surne Bilbao Basket (96-76). Dylan Ennis was the best of a UCAM team that won again after two defeats, with 19 points and a PIR of 26, against the 'men in black' who continue their irregular progress this season with eight wins.
Finally, in a direct duel to avoid relegation to the LEB Oro, Casademont Zaragoza added a vital victory by beating Río Breogan by a tight 63-61 at the Príncipe Felipe Pavilion thanks to a basket on the horn by Santi Yusta and putting three wins away from the Lugo team, penultimate classified.
The match was very close and was not decided until the final stages, despite the fact that the locals seemed to have the match under control at the beginning of the final quarter when they escaped 58-44. However, the visitors did not give up and reacted to take a 59-61 lead with 27 seconds remaining, but they committed a loss that cost them dearly with Yusta's final success that avoided overtime.