Amiab-UCAM and Ilunion-Bidaideak, semifinals of the Copa del Rey chair basketball

MADRID, 21 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Amiab Albacete, CD Ilunion, Bidaideak Bilbao and UCAM Murcia qualified this Friday for the semifinals of the Copa del Rey chair basketball, which is taking place until Sunday at the Miguel Guillén Prim Pavilion in Madrid.

Amiab, favorites for the title due to their status as champions of the Division of Honor, began overwhelmingly and barely gave Fundación Aliados a chance to Valladolid, which they clearly beat and surpassed the hundred-point barrier (113-60).

Abraham Carrión’s team came out very ‘plugged in’ from the start and their attack and defense worked perfectly, with an enlightening 31-17 lead at the end of the first ten minutes. The European champion did not loosen up until the last quarter when he allowed his rival to ‘breathe’ a little more, although not enough to give up that period (24-18).

Filipski Mateusz, author of a ‘triple-double’ with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 16 assists, led Amiab, while Clarence McCarthy-Grogan was the most outstanding of Fundación Aliados with 17 points.

The team from La Mancha will now face UCAM Murcia for a place in the final, which took one of the most even duels in the quarterfinals by beating Econy Gran Canaria, current runner-up cupbearer, 64-71.

It was a closely contested game that was not decided until the final ten minutes. The Murcian team was the one that dominated the first quarter, but the Canary Islander was able to rebuild, enter the last quarter ahead (51-45) and get close to ten (55-45). However, his rival signed a 0-13 partial to recover a lead that he would no longer let go. Lee Philipp Fryer was the best at UCAM and the game with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists.

For its part, CD Ilunion also made its debut in the tournament without excessive trouble in the derby against debutant Fundación FDI Villa Leganés, whom it defeated 79-54 in the quarterfinal that opened the action at the Miguel Guillén Prim Pavilion.

Ilunion led from the start, but ran into resistance from their rival, who despite trailing by more than ten points reached the break alive (38-28). But after going through the changing rooms, the runner-up in the Division of Honor put in one more gear and did not give rise to any surprises, led by Bill Latham (22 points).

The most successful team in the tournament with 19 titles will seek to fight for the twentieth against the defending champion, a Bidaideak Bilbao who had much more work in the other most fought match of the quarterfinals to get rid of Amivel Reyes Gutiérrez 79-72.

The Bilbao and Andalusian team had a very balanced duel in the first half (35-38), but they opted for the defending champions in the third quarter thanks to a 25-14 run. Asier García shone with a ‘triple-double’ (21 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists) for Adrián Yáñez’s team.