BAXI Manresa wins in Riga and finishes first in the group
The Bages team almost always dominated the match and knew how to withstand the final attacks of the Latvians. Limoges' victory at Benfica's court means that they can avoid playing the play-in. Steinbergs, brilliant playing "home": 21p, 3rd, 2ass and 22val.
80 VEF Riga I Zotov 6, Zoriks 24, Ate 8, Miska 7 and Brooks 24; Gulbis 6, Pinnis and Putans 5
82 BAXI Manresa I Dani Pérez 2, Badio 3, Waczynski 10, Vaulet 4 and Steinbergs 21; Harding 7, Tyson Pérez 10, Jou 8, Dani Garcia, Sagnia 6, Coulibaly and Ferrari 11
Partials: 16-21, 20-25, 28-20, 16-16
BAXI Manresa has closed the first phase of the Basketball Champions League as the leader of group F, after prevailing on the court of the Latvian VEF Riga in a match that it controlled almost at all times and in which it knew how to resist the rival's final push (80-82). This result, combined with the clear victory of Limoges at Benfica's court (59-79), means that the Bages team is freed from playing a play-in which always has its dangers.
The players led by Pedro Martínez were ahead from the start and, except for a bad moment that the home team took advantage of to turn the score (16-15), they were superior to their rival, reaching five points at the end of the first quarter thanks to a Steinbergs basket on the last possession (16-21).
In the second, the two teams began to exchange three-pointers, a fact that favored the Reds who began to open a hole and forced the rival coach to stop the game (22-30). It didn't help much, as the visitors continued to take the initiative and reached a seventeen point difference, which the Latvians cut with seven consecutive points before the break (36-46).
In the second half VEF Riga made a good start and was only two points behind (44-46). However, the Manresa team did not get nervous and did not cede control of the score at any time to a rival who, despite being eliminated before playing, wanted to give their fans one last European joy and closed the third quarter just two points below (64-66).
The future of the Bages team in the competition had to be decided in the last ten minutes which began with the dominance of the reds, who nailed a partial 0-10 to leave the triumph well faced (64-76). But it wasn't all over yet, as the home side kept trying and had a three-pointer to win which, luckily for the visitors, didn't go in.
Now BAXI Manresa will park the European competition for a few weeks and will be able to focus on climbing positions in the Endesa League. The first opportunity will be on Friday 30 December from 21:00, when Marc Gasol's Bàsquet Girona, a direct rival, will visit the Nou Congost.