Baskonia enters the playoff and can face Real Madrid | Basketball | Sports | EUROtoday

Euroleague – final_playin – working day 1

Baskonia

The energy of Bologna

Real Madrid already has a rival for him playoff. It can be Baskonia, a traditional duel between the 2 Spanish groups to settle entry to the ultimate 4 on the Mercedes Benz Arena in Berlin. The Vitorians misplaced their mood within the second half towards Buesa, and Virtus, who had put up a combat in the course of the first twenty minutes, discovered no solutions to Dusko Ivanovic's method.

Baskonia and Virtus have been risking every thing. The Vitorians, return to a playoff 5 years later; the Bolognese, enjoying one for the primary time, as a result of regardless of successful two European titles, they have been by no means in an eight-way tie, so the 2 groups got here out robust. Virtus first with Belinelli, who scored his staff's first ten factors, to mark territory, and Baskonia with Sedekerskis, who served as captain and led his staff within the first minutes.

So, within the first half, equality was most. Nobody dominated past 4 factors distinction. From the primary second it was appreciated that it might be a matter of resistance; Whoever broke first would lose the sport, and nobody was up for the job.

Alternatives adopted. Although Virtus had extra rebounds and his exterior capturing proportion was higher than Baskonia's, he additionally misplaced extra balls, so the forces have been balanced. For this motive, on the finish of the primary half, the scoreboard confirmed a tie (41-41).

But within the second half every thing modified. Suddenly Cody Miller-Mcintyre appeared on the court docket to steer Baskonia, and at his aspect Howard with the superman cape to attain triples and provides assists, and within the blink of a watch, the rating shot up above ten factors of benefit. Ivanovic's staff got here out like a hurricane to shortly discover the opponent's basket and qualify to be among the many high eight. With a choral efficiency, but additionally with the triples of Howard (8), Sedekerskis (3) and Costello (3), Baskonia didn’t enable the Italians to cough on them within the closing twenty minutes, regardless of the efforts of Shengelia, who didn’t resigned to fall. In his outdated court docket he was the one who confirmed some hint of satisfaction, but it surely didn't enable him to go.

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