Bilbao Basket has offered its most unpleasant face on the bottom court this Saturday. He lost to a corpse, in the process of decomposition in his agonizing struggle to avoid an almost sung descent. Fuenlabrada had gone 19 games in a row without winning, since the beginning of November, and they beat a sad Surne. A lot. Especially in the second half, in which the locals went 18 up (67-49). The make-up work reduced the disadvantage to the final minus six (77-71), but not the bitterness of the wasted opportunity. 18 turnovers and 6 of 16 from the free throw line condemned the men in black, who had just beaten Barcelona. Only Emir Sulejmanovic and Álex Reyes saved the honor in a match to forget and never repeat.
Adam Smith twisted his nose as soon as the game started. He missed the first two free throws. The last time he passed her must have been when he was playing on the courts in his neighborhood in Kentucky. Disappointed, he then put in two baskets to get rid of the bad taste in his mouth. Then another one came out. Queer. Something was wrong. Billbao Basket committed suicide from the penalty line, an exercise in torture that hurt the eyes. He came to rest with an incredible 2 of 7. On the other hand, Fuenlabrada, who gave the feeling that just by shaking him he would end up lying in any corner of Fernando Martín, had an 11 of 14. Another point of pain were the losses of the men in black, up to nine in the first part, 18 total. Possessions given away to give life to the bottom player, involved in the match thanks to the mistakes of the Biscayans.
As soon as Jaume Ponsarnau’s men stepped on the accelerator, they left. With very little they did a lot of damage. They played so comfortable that they played poorly, without continuity or intensity necessary to get Fuenlabrada off the floor. Every time Radicevic got into the paint and divided, the shooters were freed. Tsalmpouris scored easily, Sulejmanovic billed and Reyes saw himself alone in the magic line that even gave him the feeling of abandonment. Bilbao Basket closed the first quarter six up (19-25), even though they forgave their only child more than a mother. With a little more forcefulness and toughness, Surne could have taken off on the scoreboard. The Fuenlabreños survived thanks to free throws –11 of their 39 points at halftime came like this– and Pinder’s arm, their reference, who was discharged a few hours before the game.
Sinking
A three-pointer from Reyes gave the team their maximum as soon as the second quarter began (21-28), in which the locals gave themselves up to the inspiration of Marc García. The guard made 10 points without breaking a sweat, almost in a row. Horton appeared to pull the car and between the two they signed a 10-3 run that put the people from Madrid one up (39-38). Ponsarnau pulled out all the stops and gave minutes to Ignacio Rosa, the only one to go into the break with a negative assessment. A tie on the score (39-39) and the feeling that with just a little order, clear ideas, toughness and hierarchy, Surne could knock out a team that had not won for more than five months. His punches went into the air, imprecise.
Going through the changing rooms returned the worst version of Surne, unrecognizable, failing, soft, erratic. He opened the third quarter with two straight turnovers and a missed layup from Adam Smith, who was lonelier than Neil Armstrong on the Moon. From that 26-33 he went to 44-39, a run of 18-6 to rub his eyes. The team was not doing anything right. Neither with Radicevic nor with Hakanson in charge – the Swede returned after two games out – Bilbao Basket managed to flow. Only five points in seven minutes –10 in the entire quarter– allowed Fuenlabrada to go 14 up (58-44). And the Biscayans continued to blow themselves up from the free throw line: 4 of 14. It was sad to see it. All. From the sky of Barça to the hell of ‘Fuenla’, who appreciated the lousy visiting basket. 11 down with the last 10 minutes to go against the bottom team.
Everything got worse because the locals went 18 up thanks to a 28-10 (67-49) run. He played makeup, sheet metal and paint, and Reyes took the brush with 11 points in the last period. Between the forward and Radicevic they cleaned up the score, but they did not prevent Bilbao Basket from completing one of the worst games of the season.
