MADRID, 30 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Barça and Real Madrid achieved their fifth victory of the season in the Endesa League on Sunday, beating Valencia Basket (80-92) and Carplus Fuenlabrada (91-69) with authority.
In the morning at the WiZink Center, the white team made a ‘Fuenla’ pay for the broken dishes with no options at the champion’s home. After two consecutive defeats, Chus Mateo’s men scored 52 points in the first half that dismantled the illusion of a rival who faced the derby with the confidence of his first two victories.
Gabi Deck (14 points and 9 rebounds) and Sergio Llull (16 points, 4 triples to enter the all-time ‘Top’ 5) led a collective performance by the locals, with seven players in double digits in PIR. Vincent Poirier (14 and 8) was also vital on the inside, like Edy Tavares who entered the five-player club with 500 blocks in the League.
The leader Barça matched the team from Madrid and Lenovo Tenerife at the top of the table with 5-1, with a good performance in a demanding venue like La Fonteta. Tomás Satoransky, on the day of his 31st birthday, Nicolás Laprovittola and Cory Higgins led the strong first half (40-55) away against a Valencia Basket very much in tow from the start.
The former ‘taronja’ Kalinic made the match even more difficult for the locals, who gave themselves up to the final pride without preventing the victory of a solid Barça. Like last week, Laprovittola was the best culé with 21 points, while Higgins finished with 18. Álex Mumbrú’s men (3-3) seem to pay for the effort in the Euroleague.
On the other hand, Cazoo Baskonia reacted in time (70-81) against Surne Bilbao Basket to win the Basque derby and go 4-2 in the standings. Those of Joan Peñarroya signed a last quarter of 12-22, which was the final blow. The performance of Darius Thompson (22 PIR) took the derby to the side from Vitoria.
In addition, Unicaja achieved the fifth largest victory in its history in the 106-60 that it endorsed Real Betis. Ejim (17 points, PIR of 25) was the best player in the Andalusian derby, one of the seven hosts in double scoring figures, and led the Malaga gale at the Martín Carpena.
On the other hand, Bàsquet Girona achieved its first victory against its public (100-89) in the visit of UCAM Murcia. The Catalans, who chained their two league victories, had an unstoppable Marc Gasol, with 24 points and a PIR of 30, in addition to the great performance of Quino Colom (29 PIR).
