It’s all about the “Gasol effect”, but Bàsquet Girona is different. Jordi Sargaral’s men are confident in themselves and even face the strongest teams in the LEB Or. Yesterday they beat third-placed Easycharger Palencia (62-73). The people of Girona were superior from start to finish, leaving a clear warning: they have woken up and are not giving up anything.
The presence of Marc Gasol caused an impact in Palencia. The stands in the town hall were packed to capacity, with nearly 5,000 spectators, to watch the NBA champion in action. They did not have to wait long to suffer. The pivot intimidated and, in return, gave wings to a Girona Basketball, which soon took over the court. In five minutes, Girona were already 2-10 and a triple was the trigger for the local team to ask for time out. Palencia made an attempt to enter the game, but Sargatal’s men continued to grow with confidence in both attack and defense.
After finishing the first half with a 13-22, Bàsquet Girona asserted its superiority in the second to make it clear who was in charge. With Gasol handing out assists and shots from 6.75 right and left, Palencia could do little. Only Prince Ali managed to make a difference by being the top scorer. While on the Girona side almost everyone had something to say. Jawara, especially Sabbath or Franch, among others, were added to the party of Gasol to restrain the rival. A maximum of 21 points was reached and, although Palencia made an effort before the break to cut distances, it only made up for the result: 31-42.
This was demonstrated in the third quarter. Bàsquet Girona did not forgive, showing itself to be a solid and balanced team in all aspects. Vecvagars was also right on target. While Franch turned on the alarms at the local set from 6.75. And that Palencia had just asked for a timeout for the 0-7 that had been nailed by Girona at the start of the half. The locals, however, did their best not to close the score (47-54).
The cut of Palencia could have annoyed the Girona, who already imagined an easy victory, but not like that. With the game locked, having Gasol was a plus. Or a few. And we had to take advantage of it. He kept helping Jawara, overcoming local pressure to get to the basket. Aware that they could not miss the victory, the Girona team set about despairing Palencia, maintaining their superiority both on the court and on the scoreboard. With everything decided, Sargatal let Gasol rest for the last three minutes of the match. More than deserved.
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