A Steinbergs three-pointer gives BAXI Manresa their thirteenth victory
Good first half of the Manresans, disaster in the third quarter and revived in the last period in Badalona.
81 Joventut Badalona I Feliz 28, Evans 11, Busquets, Kraag 3 i Prey 6; Brodziansky 11, Andrews 13, Vives 5, Ruzic 4 i López
83 BAXI Manresa I Taylor 6, Badio 16, Sagnia 5, Robinson 18 i Mawugbe 6; Travanté 3, Jou, Dani García, Steinbergs 12, Geben 8, Oriola 1 i Dani Pérez 8
Partials: 16-29, 19-23, 24-6, 22-25
BAXI Manresa took a hard-fought victory in the Catalan derby on the complicated court of Joventut Badalona (81-83). The team from Manresa clearly dominated in the first half, but in the third quarter the green and black reacted and came back. The last quarter was very level and, in a heart-stopping finale, Steinbergs nailed the decisive three-pointer.
After a start with an exchange of baskets, the reds showed a higher rhythm and more success than their rival and, thanks to a partial 0-9 in the middle of the period, they were able to escape in the electronic and obtain a margin of thirteen points at the end of the first quarter (16-29).
In the second, Pedro Martínez's players continued to show superiority and reached a maximum advantage of 22 points (22-44). A few moments later, the game had to be interrupted to attend to a fan who had a health problem. Subsequently, the game resumed and the Manresans reached halftime with a seventeen-point margin (35-52).
Between the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third, the green and black scored a run of 22-0 and tied the game (52-52). It seemed that Bages' team reacted with five points in a row, but the Badaloneses pressed the accelerator again and closed the third quarter ahead (59-58).
In the last ten minutes neither of the two teams managed to open a gap in the score and everything had to be decided in the final stretch. With twenty seconds left, Badio put the Reds ahead, but in the subsequent play Feliz drove the Badalona team crazy. There were only two seconds left, one last chance. Taylor received the ball, but couldn't shoot and passed it to Steinbergs, who, like in Granada, scored the winning three-pointer.
On Saturday starting at 8:45 p.m., BAXI Manresa will host another difficult rival at the Nou Congost, Dreamland Gran Canaria.