Murcia, May 14 (EFE).- UCAM Murcia, with a shirt that is a nod to the past, beat Surne Bilbao Basket 67-55 and thus ensures qualification to play European competition next season and continues putting pressure on Valencia Basket in the fight for the eighth place that entitles them to play the qualifying rounds for the title in the Endesa League, an objective that the Basque team has already said goodbye to.
The team coached by Sito Alonso, ninth, achieved its fourth consecutive win, the sixth in the last seven rounds, and stands with 16 wins and 17 losses with the regular phase still to end at the Palau Blaugrana against Barça. Bilbao, for its part, appears just behind in tenth place in the table with a 14-19.
It was the fourth meeting between the two teams this season and UCAM CB, which had won both in the FIBA Champions League and lost the one in the first round of the league, was superior from the start.
The Murcian team abused the starting triple but their very good defense and resounding dominance on the rebound allowed them to lead from the start with a 9-0 initial run.
Sito’s men stretched their lead to 18-5, which became 18-7 at the end of the first quarter with a final basket by Nikola Radicevic. Danilo Nikolic, with eight points, led the university offense after 10 minutes of the game.
The reaction of the box led by Jaume Ponsarnau seemed to come in the second period and from 20-7 it went to 20-14 with Jeff Withey and Álex Reyes scoring from long distance. However, the appearance of Thad McFadden in the local attack once again increased the income of UCAM CB (27-16).
After the game was interrupted for several minutes by the indisposition, specifically a drop in tension, of a spectator who was evacuated from the stands on a stretcher, the return to the field showed a more determined Bilbao Basket and that helped them to get closer on the scoreboard and reach the break six points behind their rival (30-24) and with Jeff Withey contributing to reduce the initial difference in the inside game.
After the intermission the stake resumed with two consecutive triples scored by David Jelínek, a layup by Nemanja Radovic and a dunk by Artem Pustovyi and that 10-0 shot again at the Murcians with their maximum advantage up to that moment (40-24). .
Bilbao Basket, which already had its starting point guard, Ludde Hakkanson, out, lost Radicevic in the first half and Agustín Ubal at the start of the second due to injuries, so the Basques were left without a natural game director .
Adam Smith, first, and Xavi Rabaseda, then, had to assume that responsibility and with them at the controls the men in black experienced a reaction.
After going down 18 (45-27) they closed the quarter with a 4-14 lead topped off with a triple by Georgios Tsalmpouris, a 2.16 center, on the buzzer that left it 49-41 at the Palacio de los Deportes with ten minutes to play.
Bilbao Basket’s comeback attempt ended in that because another better staging by the Murcians opened the gap further with an almost definitive 9-0 at that point in the match (58-41). In any case, there was still a game left. , and the relaxation of the university students, who conceded that same 0-9 score in just two minutes, saw that their victory could be in danger.
Chris Chiozza, who had missed all five of his shots, four of them three-pointers, scored precisely a three-pointer that broke his team’s drought and slowed down the visitors’ momentum, which was at most eight points within the last minute. , which were 12 at the end with a tremendous dunk from Pustoyvi on the counterattack that was the signature of the triumph of UCAM CB.
Datasheet:
67. UCAM Murcia Club Basketball (18+12+19+18): Chiozza (5), Jelínek (12), Rojas (3), Nikolic (10) and Pustovyi (6) -starting five-, Klavzar (3), Bellas (2), Radovic (7), McFadden (11), Sakho (4) and Diop (4).
55. Surne Bilbao Basket (7+17+17+14): Radicevic (2), Smith (9), Rabaseda (5), Sulejmanovic (7) and Withey (14) -starting five-, Álex Reyes (5), Barandalla (2), Ubal (-), Kyser (4), Tsalmpouris (5) and Ignacio Rosa (2).
Referees: Antonio Conde Ruiz, Javier Torres Sánchez and Raúl Zamorano Sánchez. They eliminated the local Sakho (m.39) for five fouls.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the thirty-third day of the Endesa Basketball League that was played at the Palacio de los Deportes in Murcia before 5,891 spectators. UCAM CB Murcia debuted a new shirt, which was a nod to the past as it is a replica with nuances to the first one used by the then-named Júver Murcia.