Redaccion
El Valencia Basket and Unicaja have respectively defeated Surne Bilbao Basket 89-70 and Coviran Granada 95-78 in matchday 22 of the Liga Endesa. The Rio Breogán also secured a crucial 94-74 victory over MoraBanc Andorra, following a triumph by Bàsquet Girona over Joventut Badalona.
The action started at the Fuente de San Luis Pavilion, where Valencia took an early lead but only sealed the deal towards the end of the third period and the beginning of the fourth. Josep Puerto, Semi Ojeleye, and Xabi López-Arostegui guided the ‘taronja’ attack with 15, 14, and 13 points respectively.
This strong performance at home propelled Valencia temporarily to the second spot in the standings with a record of 16-6, while Bilbao Basket remained in the middle of the pack with an 8-14 record. The game at the Carpena ended slightly later, despite starting at the same time as the one at La Fonteta.
The matchup in Malaga was even tighter, but the reigning Copa del Rey champions came alive in the final period with their perimeter shooting. Kendrick Perry, Tyson Carter, and Jonathan Barreiro contributed to the scoring, complementing the efforts of Dylan Osetkowski (16 pts.) and particularly Killian Tillie (23 pts.).
As a result, Unicaja quickly reclaimed the second position with a 17-5 record, putting pressure on Real Madrid (17-4) for the top spot before their weekend clash against UCAM Murcia (10-11). A win against the Madrid side would be crucial for Murcia to stay in the playoff race after Joventut’s recent loss.
In the regional derby at Fontajau, Joventut kept it close on the scoreboard for most of the game, but Girona surged ahead in the final stages of the third period to secure an 11-point lead (66-55) that they managed well in the last quarter. Aljami Durham led the way for Girona, helping them climb out of the relegation zone with a 7-15 record at least until Sunday.
Meanwhile, Badalona remained in fifth place provisionally with a 13-9 record, waiting to see the outcomes of BAXI Manresa (12-9) against Leyma Coruña (5-16) and FC Barcelona (12-9) versus La Laguna Tenerife (16-5) in their respective Sunday matchups.
Breogán will keep an eye on the result of the Coruña game, as they had no trouble defeating Andorra to move to a 9-13 record. It was a direct clash to secure stability in the hot zone of the standings, as Andorra currently sits at 8-14 with little margin for error.
