Euroleague – playin – working day 1
Baskonia’s game for their first chance to get into the top eight was catastrophic from start to finish. Against Maccabi, in Belgrade, neutral ground, and minimal environmental pressure, made up of 250 fans of the Israeli team, the Vitorian team was shipwrecked. Between Lorenzo Brown and Baldwin they destroyed any hope of facing Panathinaikos, as seventh. Ivanovic’s men will have to hold on to the Buesa crossing next Friday.
Only Miller-Mcintyre (32 points, PIR of 45) was saved from burning against the Maccabees, who from the beginning felt comfortable in all facets of the game. They scored without opposition from outside and inside, they rebounded in attack and defense, with no response from Vitoria, who attacked poorly and defended worse. In the first seven minutes, Maccabi had already scored five triples, and it was only the beginning of what would come later. The 28-15 at the end of the first quarter was already significant, but the worst for Baskonia would come later because, in addition, Moneke injured his ankle in a defensive action and could not return to the field.
The first bad quarter was followed by an even worse second. Nothing was working between the Vitorians while Lorenzo Brown remained plugged in like he does every time he faces a momentous match. Ivanovic’s men wrinkled, perhaps already tired from an exhausting season, they were unable to close the Israeli attack nor were they able to penetrate the well-equipped defense of their rival, who, doing things with common sense, continued to neutralize the attempts of reaction of the Baskonia.
The scoreboard expanded little by little at first, then at greater speed, as the errors on the visiting side accumulated. At 5.57 before the break, Maccabi’s men had scored 41 points to Baskonia’s only 20, and the numbers were becoming more and more deficient. The 24 lead with one minute left was made up by Ivanovic’s group, leaving them at 19 when the horn sounded (55-36).
The ordeal became increasingly painful for Baskonia, which did not improve one bit in the rest of the game, until the final result, with 28 points of difference between the two teams, but Macabbi’s 19 triples, seven of them of Lorenzo Brown, handed down the sentence, almost before the trial began. The first match of play-in in the history of the Euroleague, it was catastrophic for Baskonia. He has another chance, it will be against Virtus de Bologna at the Buesa Arena, the team from which he snatched seventh place in the last match of the regular League, and which beat Anadolu Efes at home in Istanbul (64-67) , in a very tight match, which was not resolved until the final moments. A triple by Lundberg resolved the clash. The Italians gave the surprise and left out one of the most powerful teams in the competition.
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