La Laguna (Tenerife) (EFE).- Lenovo Tenerife certified their ticket to the Endesa League play-offs after beating Río Breogán in their La Laguna fiefdom -currently ninth in the standings- in a duel that the islanders dominated from start to finish (85-67), despite the fact that the Galician team had several sets of the game to balance the match.
The Georgian center Giorgi Shermadini became the great offensive protagonist of the people of Tenerife with his 20 points, 8 rebounds and a PIR of 27, deactivating the North American Ethan Happ -his ‘dance partner’ in the area- who stayed at 6 points and 9 rebounds, at the same time that he made sterile the 17 points and 71% success in field goals of visiting point guard Scott Bamforth.
In a fast-paced start full of alternatives, the Canaries and Galicians kept their balance on the scoreboard halfway through the first quarter (9-9), thanks to points in Shermadini’s area that were offset by the success of Hollatz and Mormirov in visiting attack.
However, a triple by Canadian Aaron Doornekamp, combined with a dunk by Cook and a new shot from the perimeter by Fernández, allowed the Laguna players to take oxygen in the electronic game (21-15). However, the entry of Nenadic gave the Galician team a new impulse that allowed them to close the initial period with a more than tight 21-19.
At the start of the second quarter, and after a shot from Arteaga for Breogán (21-21), Lenovo hooked up an effervescent 7-0 run, generated between the Fernández-Shermadini duo, which forced the visiting coach, Veljko Mrsic, to request a timeout to break the local rhythm (28-21).
The tactical stoppage was of little use, since Huertas’s return to the parquet again unbalanced the duel in the paint between Shermadini and the North American Ethan Happ, asserting a connection that translated into a provisional 36-25. Bamforth’s management tried to narrow the gap, but a final layup from Doornekamp sealed an eight-point lead (40-32) at the end of the first half.
At the restart, and despite the efforts of Tanaskovic and Bamforth, Lenovo continued to maintain the income above ten, fueling Guerra in the area and Fitipaldo on the perimeter (58-47).
Already in the last quarter, two triples by Mormirov and Sergi García, together with two free throws by Nenadic, allowed the Lugo team to revive (60-55). The local timeout allowed to stop the Galician euphoria (65-57), forcing Mrsic to repeat the tactical stoppage.
From there, the outside shot of the islanders began to work, especially through the wrist of Abromaitis and Fitipaldo, while Río Breogán suffered an uncomfortable short circuit (76-60). Already in the final exchange of baskets, Lenovo Tenerife took the upper hand for a clear 85-67, thus ensuring their pass to the next round of the Endesa League.
Datasheet:
85. Lenovo Tenerife (21+19+18+27): Huertas (10), Bolmaro (6), Cook (6), Shermadini (20) and Doornekamp (5) –initial team-; Fitipaldo (12), Fernández (7), Abromaitis (5), Guerra (4), Sastre (5), Mathias (3) and Diagné (2).
67. Río Breogán (19+13+15+20): Bamforth (17), Momirov (8), Hollatz (5), Happ (6) and Tanaskovic (4) -initial team-; Garcia (10), Nenadic (10), Brajkovic (-), S. Quintela (-), E. Quintela (-) and Arteaga (7).
Referees: Antonio Conde, Arnau Padrós and Cristóbal Sánchez. No deleted.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the twenty-ninth day of the Endesa League played at the Santiago Martín de La Laguna before 4,946 spectators. EFE