Congost withstands a tough Valencia and BAXI Manresa adds 18th
Those from Bages dominate a match that ends with a close finish thanks to the contributions of their twelve players. Up to seven of them have finished with a rating of 10 or more.
98 BAXI Manresa I Dani Pérez 3, Badio 15, Vaulet 2, Robinson 18 and Geben 10; Travanté 10, Dani García 2, Taylor 12, Steinbergs 6, Sagnia 8, Mawugbe 2 and Oriola 10
96 Valencia Basket I Jones 11, López-Arostegui 5, Ojeleye 14, Pradilla 15 and Davies 20; Harper 2, Claver 2, Puerto, Anderson 18, Inglis 5, Jovic 4 and Kaba
Partials: 28-28, 26-17, 24-29, 20-22
BAXI Manresa won again at the Nou Congost after beating a Euroleague rival, Valencia Basket, in a match that was decided in the last seconds (98-96). Those from Bages dominated from the beginning and were able to withstand the attacks of a Valencian team full of great players with a lot of experience.
The players led by Pedro Martínez had a good start, scoring ten consecutive points and earning ten points (19-9). However, the visitors showed their talent and tied the game again at the end of the first quarter thanks to three free throws from Anderson (28-28).
In the second, the reds exhibited a great defensive level and forced many turnovers on the rival, who went almost six minutes without scoring. In this section, partial 12-0 and timeout requested by Xavi Albert. Subsequently, the team from Manresa were solid and reached halftime with nine points ahead with a final basket by Travanté (54-45).
Returning from the locker room, the Bages team knew how to resist the visitors' success from the triple (they scored six in the third quarter) and controlled the score at all times. The final ten minutes were entered with a four-point margin for the hosts and, therefore, everything to be decided (78-74).
In these, the reds could not break the game, while the visitors scored nine consecutive points to tie the game with just under three minutes remaining (96-96). Shortly after, Robinson overtook his team again and, after a few moments of inaccuracy, Valencia had the last move to win or force extra time, but Jones failed and Nou Congost jumped for joy to celebrate their eighteenth victory of the season.
On Sunday starting at 12:30 the BAXI Manresa will visit the Casademont Zaragoza court.