Joventut closes the Baskonia season

Joventut closes the Baskonia season

The green and black team, first semifinalist of the Endesa League after beating Baskonista again 83-76

MADRID, 30 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –

CB Joventut became the first semifinalist of the 2022-2023 Endesa League this Tuesday after coming out of the ‘Playoff’ for the title against Cazoo Baskonia, whom they defeated 83-76 at the Badalona Olympic Stadium, a grave again for the Baskonistas who had buried their hopes in the Copa del Rey there and against the same rival also ahead of schedule.

La ‘Penya’ is already waiting for the winner of Real Madrid-Dreamland Gran Canaria after once again being the executioner of Joan Peñarroya’s men, who close a season that seemed exciting without even being close to any title. He arrived as one of the favorites for the cup tournament and couldn’t beat the green and black in the quarterfinals, and the same thing happened to him in this series where he couldn’t give the level either after losing at the Buesa Arena.

Baskonia did not have their night at the offensive level. Only Markus Howard had a certain scoring pace (16 points), but he missed something more from Darius Thompson, while Joventut once again had Kyle Guy, less spectacular than in Vitoria, but decisive with 22 points, half in a third room where everything began to lean towards the local side. The rebounding, 42 to 31, was also a deciding factor.

The match began almost as it ended at the Buesa Arena. Guy started fine from the triple and scored his first two, which joined another Vives, insufficient, however, to get away from his rival in a hectic start and under a ‘playoff’ atmosphere at the Olympic.

The local shooting guard could not continue his success, but the other green-black key weapon of the first duel, Brodziansky, author of nine points, was. The visitor’s replica came through triples by Howard and Díez and despite another success from the local three line by Andrés Feliz, at the end of the first ten minutes the maximum equality was maintained (21-19).

Peñarroya’s team began the second quarter more in tune, especially with the triple, with which they signed an optimal 4/4. Howard was once again his stiletto (8 points) in an electric duel at times with Feliz, but his team missed a better version of Thompson again.

GUY APPEARS TO OPEN BREACH

Baskonia managed to stay ahead 33-36, an advantage that did not last long as soon as his point guard had a rest. Joventut, with good minutes from Vives and doing a lot of damage in the ‘paint’ (16 points in this quarter), turned the score around with a 7-0 lead and managed to reach the break ahead (46-40).

The restart brought bad news for Peñarroya. Despite the fact that his team came out with energy and regained control (46-47), he saw how he had to send Howard to the bench for his third foul in his defense against a Guy who also awakened his scoring ‘greed’ in this period with eleven very important points for the ‘Penya’.

Without their best scorer, Kotsar’s good work was not enough for Baskonia because they got entangled in attack accumulating loss after loss and began to see how the game was going uphill, especially when Guy, who had had a small scuffle shortly before with Heidegger settled with an unsportsmanlike foul for each one, he scored his fourth triple, far away and on the horn, to make it 71-62.

The Badalona Olympics raised the decibels and Joventut “plugged in” with a 6-0 (77-62) that made them look closer to the semifinals against a “touched” rival, with Howard diminished in defense due to his four fouls and without Excessive responses in attack, except for triple shots.

Even so, the green and black stopped themselves in a scoring drought of almost five minutes and that gave Baskonia the opportunity to try to recover their options for the final stretch, weighed down by the elimination of their star with almost four minutes to play. Thompson, with two triples in a row, gave excitement (81-74) with more than a minute and a half, but the team from Vitoria ended up saying goodbye to another title chance in Badalona.

DATASHEET.

–RESULT: JOVENTUT, 83 – CAZOO BASKONIA, 76 (46-40, at halftime).

–EQUIPMENT.

BADALONA YOUTH CLUB: Vives (15), Guy (22), Parra (3), Brodziansky (13) and Tomic (6) –starting five–; Kraag (3), Ellenson (2), Birgander (6), Feliz (13), Ventura (-) and Busquets (-).

CAZOO BASCONY: Thompson (15), Marinkovic (3), Giedraitis (14), Costello (5) and Kotsar (12) — starting quintet–; Howard (16), Heidegger (5), Ten (3) and Sedekerskis (3).

— PARTIALS: 21-19, 25-21, 25-22 and 12-14.

–REFEREES: Hierrezuelo, Aliaga and Manuel. Howard was fouled out.

— PAVILION: Badalona Olympic. 6,917 spectators.