Girona Basketball tonight had the opportunity to leave Betis and Manresa sunk in the relegation places, two wins apart, but at the hour of truth, they ended up reviving a direct rival (82-79) and continued complicating life in the debut season in the ACB. Beyond the first quarter, which the Girona team closed with a 9-point lead (14-23), Aíto’s team never managed to find their place on the court and the second half was particularly poor. Girona went from scoring 23 points to 8, and saw how Manresa turned the score around led by Waczynski’s goal. Aíto’s lost by 13 (60-47) in the third quarter and reacted too late, when with two three-pointers by Colom and Gasol they managed to get only one (78-77) with 21 seconds left . Ferrari made it 80-77 from the free throw and with 16 seconds to play, Colom missed a three-pointer that left him crying inside, and Fjellerup, after a rebound from Vila, made it 80-79. Waczynski, at 4 seconds, has returned the +3 for Manresa (82-79) and the triumph has remained in Nou Congost. The 500th victory in the ACB, by the way, by Pedro Martínez.
Hanzlik’s triple that ended the first half allowed Básquet Girona the lesser evil of going into the break losing by just five (36-31). Again the Aíto team lived on a roller coaster. If during the first quarter the Girona had been the masters and lords, winning by 9 (14-23) after a basket by Èric Vila, suddenly the leads melted again and in a three and no res Manresa not only equalized the duel, but came to dominate it by 8 (36-28, Vaulet). That team that just a few minutes earlier had outside success and was able to run and enjoy themselves, had rushed and was only able to score 8 points. The rebound was no longer controlled, the ball burned and no one was able to assume the role of leader. In the explanation of Manresa’s reaction and the visitor’s decline, a couple more details must also be noted: the appearance for the local side of the Polish Adam Waczynski (10 points, 3/3 three-pointers in the second quarter ), and the demotion to Girona of Kam Taylor, who with a blow to the eyebrow, spent many minutes on the bench being treated by the doctors and ended up going to the dressing room. Although he was able to reappear in the restart, it was difficult for him to enter the game.
Robinson, in front of Marc Gasol, in the last round, gave Manresa an 11-point lead at 4.20 at the end of the third quarter. Things were still not working. Girona had improved offensively, with two three-pointers followed by Colom and the pivot-president, but the locals had taken the rhythm of an eternal duel due to the continuous reviews of plays. If Waczynski was the nightmare in the second quarter, Robinson has taken over here. No one was able to stop him and he lost by 13 (60-47) in 2.23 to close the half. In the end it entered the last 10 minutes 10 down (63-53).
Girona got to 6 (68-62) even though Manresa increasingly dominated the rebound. For the visiting side, Taylor was finally taking center stage after a rough night. Aíto put pressure on his men in defense, but Manresa kept scoring (74-65, at 3.30). The game seemed to have ended with a basket by Dani Pérez (76-65), but a basket by Taylor and a three-pointer by Colom gave a last glimmer of hope (78-74) less than a minute into the end At 21 seconds a Gasol triple made it 78-77. Ferrari then converted two free throws (80-77), and Columbus had the tie but his three-pointer went inside. Fjellerup made it 80-79 after a great rebound from Vila. With 4 seconds Waczynski scored with two free throws (82-79).
