Resilience activated. The loss of Rebekah Gardner, still injured in the shoulder, and Laura Cornelius, who this week was transferred to the Turkish Mersin, placed yesterday at the Spar Girona in a complex situation. The premises, however, go overcome unfavorable factors to seal the sixth victory in the Euroleague against the cuer, the Kangaroos Mechelen, showing its most resilient version. one providential triumph to keep alive the options of being among the four best teams in Group B and extend the European path. The mission was not simple and the rivals, moreover, already knew what it was like to win against Girona after defeating them in the first leg. However, they didn’t count on the step forward of Brittney Sykes, who had her best performance (24 points, 5 assists and 8 rebounds) since she returned to wear the Spar Girona shirt.
It wasn’t all flowers and violets. In fact, the start of the game was cold and the Belgians quickly took the initiative thanks to an excellent Morgan Bertsch (17 points) who scored half of her team’s points in the first quarter (21-26). The premises, often messy, go turn the situation around thanks to the defensive intensity of Irati Etxarri and the appearance of Brittney Sykes in her most prominent facet. The American supported the scoring responsibility of the team who, on the other hand, was living a hard battle under the hoop in the particular duel between Tolo and Morrison. In this way, Uni cut distances and went to the break with a slight lead (39-37).
Marianna Tolo diminished the Kangoeroes’ offensive options by taking away the fourth personal from Lisa Berkani as soon as the third quarter started. Spar Girona returned from the break with better ball circulation thanks, in part, to Sykes’ mobility. The defensive intensity began to take effect and, little by little, Bernat Canut’s players took a positive lead of eight points (56-48). The Uni had removed the danger. With seven minutes to go, Spar Girona had the match where they wanted. The tension of the Fontajau audience turned into chants and Laia Flores gave them a reason to sing triple that placed +16 on the scoreboard and definitively sentenced the party.
The triumph becomes the sixth victory in European competition and allows the team to take a breather before embarking on a tour with four games away from home: Lointek Gernika, Sopron Basket, Kutxabank Araski and DVTK. Despite the unknown of knowing when Gardner will return, it is proven that the resilience of the team, for now, is in mode.
