Ehe Basketball Club Gran Canaria consolidates its position in the Endesa League play-off positions after beating UCAM Murcia with solvency at home, taking advantage of the debut of Venezuelan Michael Carrera and minimizing the absence on the bench due to sanction of his coach Jaka Lakovic (107 -99).
Despite the success of James Anderson -23 points- and Thad McFadden -14-, Murcia failed to counteract the prominence of the Pole Olek Balcerowski (20 points) and the Argentine Nico Brussino (18), for a team that has not lost in the Gran Canaria Arena since last December 11.
The ex-yellow Artem Pustovyi began eroding the yellow zone scoring the first five points of the visiting team. The Ukrainian’s drive was joined by Anderson with two consecutive three-pointers, which led UCAM to a promising 4-11 lead in the early stages of the clash.
However, the Claretian team reacted with two dunks from the Pole Balcerowski and a triple from Albicy (11-13). McFadden and Trice returned to the charge, after that island rapprochement (13-21), which led the local coach, in this case Víctor García Guadarrama – who took the main baton due to the suspension of the Slovenian Jaka Lakovic – to speed up the rotations to find the correct equation.
And it was precisely the entrance of the recently signed Michael Carrera that devoured the attention on the floor. Two triples from the Venezuelan, combined with two free throws, allowed Gran Canaria to balance the balance in a first quarter that closed with more than high figures (27-27).
In the second quarter the tables turned. The islanders took the initiative with a shot on the board by Benite and a subsequent triple by Bassas, which forced Sito Alonso’s timeout when barely a minute had elapsed (32-27). Anderson and Pustovyi returned to the floor to minimize the bleeding that was already stalking the ten (36-27).
The formula worked instantly (36-32), but it was a mirage. Immediately afterwards, Benite, Balcerowski and Albicy stretched the gum again, raising the difference to eleven (43-32) at 5:39 for the break.
Things didn’t get any better despite Klavzar and Trice’s wrist. Gran Canaria picked up cruising speed and also allowed itself to wake up a Nico Brussino who began to fuel up, leaving the first half with a 20-point advantage for the locals (57-37).
In the resumption, the script of the match was hardened in both rings, with a greater dose of muscle and less success in front of the ring. Radovic and Pustovyi found the odd opening in the paint (62-47), although the island squad kept their distance from Benite and Bassas on the perimeter. However, a brutal McFadden, with four almost consecutive triples, and a free throw from Pustovyi reduced the gap to eleven (71-60), but Benite and Salvó managed to give the yellows oxygen while waiting for the last period (75-60 ).
A triple from Brussino and a subsequent 2+1 from Balcerowski seemed to seal half the game (85-67) with less than seven minutes to go. To this was added the personal elimination of Jelinek, Diop and McFadden himself, who went to the locker room with a technique when angrily claiming a possible foul by Albicy. Mortgaged in the rotations and with almost no room for reaction, UCAM ended up giving up at the Siete Palmas venue against a Gran Canaria team that sealed the victory with a clear 107-89 victory.
Datasheet:
107. CB Gran Canaria (27+30+18+32): Albicy (8), Brussino (18), AJ Slaughter (11), Shurna (5) and Balcerowski (20) -starting team-; Saved (5), K. Diop (6), Carrera (10), Benite (15), Bassas (7), Stevic (2) and Kljajic (0).
89. UCAM Murcia (27+10+23+29): Bellas (2), Anderson (23), McFadden (14), Radovic (6) and Pustovyi (11) – the starting team; Trice (14), Jelinek (-), Klavzar (6), Luther (2), Sakho (-), I. Diop (11) and Rojas (-).
Referees: Jordi Aliaga, Javier Torres and Raúl Zamorano. Visiting players Jelinek, McFadden and Ilimane Diop were eliminated by personal.
Incidences: Match corresponding to the twenty-third day of the Endesa League played at the Gran Canaria Arena (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria). Assistance data not provided
