Second decisive part

 A partial 36-25 in the resumption after a good first half leads to the first defeat of the season at Ciutat de Castelló

| Sunday, 17 October 2021

Basketball Girona has lost the first game of the season at home to TAU Castelló (72-67). After taking advantage and dominating the game and the score in the second quarter, an eight-point partial advantage in the third period and entering the foul bonus too early in the last caused the first down. The intensity and energy of Gonçalo Delgado (9 points, 10 rebounds and 5 fouls received), the outside contribution of Albert Sàbat (4/4 in the second quarter) and the direction of Josep Franch were the main notes of the match. 

The first few games of the match have been developed with remarkable scoring regularity (7-8, 4′) which has ended in favor of the local side even though the advantage has been mostly Girona’s thanks to a partial 0-5 (9 -13). The rival revived with an 11-4 run, limiting the visitors’ passing lanes and being proactive in the paint (20-17).

The second ten minutes had a prominent protagonist in the figure of Albert Sàbat. 4 out of 4 triples to catapult his team up to +7 (29-36) also contributing to Girona’s good defensive staging. Josep Franch’s final five points would allow the team to continue the second half with a slight cushion of points (36-42). 

In the resumption, the good defense from Castellón allowed them to leave Girona with eight more points in the third quarter (15-8) and resume the advantage on the scoreboard with their starting point guard Óscar Alvarado out for a double technical. Faner’s direction and the good disposition of the Castellon team in the rear have re-established the balance in the game (51-50).

In the last quarter, the first few minutes were equal until the Girona team accumulated unsuccessful offensive actions with fouls on their own court that brought Castellón to the free-throw line early. A 6-0 partial run (61-54) – all points from 4.60 meters – have generated a distance that the Castellonese have managed to maintain even though the Reds have come within a point (68-67). In the decisive possession, Jorge Bilbao, the best of the opponents in the last period (10 points), made a basket under the hoop to make it 70-67 with less than seconds left in the game. 

STATEMENTS OF CARLES MARCO:

“We knew that the visit to the City of Castelló would be complicated. We lacked spark, I don’t know if it’s because it’s the third game in a week, we couldn’t run but neither did they, then with our success in the three-point line we went up on the scoreboard but we knew we had to give another step in energy and defensive intensity.”

“We struggled to score in the second half, we didn’t play well and they dominated us. We competed but we lacked this point of improvement that if we continue to work to correct will allow us to continue competing on the tracks of the top teams and have the possibility of winning.”