The Girona team beat Força Lleida (68-77) and will face Estudiantes this Sunday for a place in the Endesa League
Marc Gasol was injured in the third quarter in his left knee and did not return to the game after scoring 11 points in the first half
Girona Basketball will fight this Sunday to return to the Endesa League after beating Força Lleida (68-77) in the second semi-final of the LEB Oro Final Four, although the unknown is whether they will be able to do it with their star and president, Marc Gasol.
LLE
GIR
LINEUPS
Força Lleida, 68
(11+20+17+20): González (6), Schreiner (9), Marcos (0), Carrera (12), Badji (9) .-starting five-, Hughes (14), Lafuente (4), Pink (12), Cleare (2).
Basketball Girona, 77
(26+27+8+16): Franch (10), Urtasun (11), Fjellerup (11), Jawara (7), Gasol (11)- starting five-, Sàbat (4), Vila (10), Sturup (3), Molins (0), Vecvagars (6), Sorolla (4), Sevillano (0).
Referees:
German Morales, Paula Lemas, and Guillermo Rios. Without eliminated.
Incidences:
Second semifinal of the LEB Oro, at the Pavelló de Fontajau. Marc Gasol was injured in the third quarter, although he later returned to the bench, but did not play anymore.
The pivot was injured in the third quarter after stepping poorly and his left knee failed, showing pain. He ended up in the locker room, although he later returned to the bench to watch the second half and his team’s victory. The unknown is to know what situation the former NBA center is in.
With a completely full Fontajau cheering on Bàsquet Girona and with the presence of the entire Gasol-Pau family in the stands with the president of La Española, Jorge Garbajosa and the family, on the runwaya-, Jordi Sargatal’s team came out like a real motorcycle, trying to break the game from the first minutes. And he did it, driven by a Marc Gasol (4-14) who involved his teammates to open rents.
Força Lleida, without solutions
And it is that the Lleida could not find solutions to the open shots of VecVagars and Franch that took the lead to a maximum of 18 pointsto stay at 15 at the end of the quarter (11-26).
That initial domain was extended by the locals based on triples to reach 20 points (18-38). Lleida also tried to react with triples and managed to reduce the lead to just 14 (27-41). Sargatal called a timeout at 4:10 of the break.
And Girona’s reaction was immediate. Two consecutive three-pointers by Marc Gasol -11 points at the break- once again boosted the team from Girona (28-50) who even reached a maximum of 25 points (28-53) after a triple by Fjellerup. at rest, the game seemed more than on track for Bàsquet Girona (31-53) while waiting for the reaction of the team from Lleida.
Marc Gasol injury
After the restart, Girona went back to go 23 (33-56) after a basket by Jawara, although then came the key action of the match. On a defensive rebound, Marc Gasol stepped hard on the ground and failed his left knee, falling to the ground with signs of pain. The player went to the locker room in the arms of the physio and another member of the team, and returned minutes later, although he did not re-enter the game.
His absence due to injury clearly impacted his teammates, who saw how Lleida violated a 19-7 run. With Badji as a star, Gerard Encontr’s team came within just 10 points (55-65) after Carrera’s triple.
But the victory was no longer in danger for Girona, who beat Força Lleida (68-77) while awaiting the final match this Sunday against Estudiantes (6:45 p.m.) with Marc Gasol in doubt. Surely his real status will not be known until shortly before the final match.
