Victory in the Northern District

The senior gets the fortnight of the season in a high-scoring duel

| Saturday, 01 February 2020

Básquet Girona has beaten Ilerdauto Nissan Pardinyes Lleida in the Barris Nord pavilion (85-97). The attack was the protagonist of the match but the red team kept Pardinyes on the line, reaching a tie but not overturning the disadvantage on the scoreboard after the break. Antonio Hester (24 points and 24 rating), Gerard Sevillano (19 points, 8 rebounds and 24 rating) and Albert Sàbat (17 points, 7 assists and 28 rating) have been the pillars of the team in Lleida.

The match started with a first period of tender defenses and effective attacks. While the team from Lleida has dominated from the line of 6.75 (8/12), the team from Girona has done it in the paint (87% of the points). Antonio Hester, with 15 points and 17 rating, and Gerard Sevillano, with 9 and 13, have particularly stood out in the first elections (28-31).

In the second period, the defenses adjusted and this allowed the team led by Gerard Encuentra to overturn the unfavorable inertia on the scoreboard (4/8 in 3-point shots). Antonio Hester’s third foul in the fifth minute didn’t invite a comeback before the break, but internal determination and defensive improvement made Girona’s first triple, the work of Máxim Esteban (45-47).

The one from Ametlla del Vallès repeated for a double from the 6.75 line to start the scoring at the restart. Esteban’s success would be the prelude to the explosive start of the visiting team in attack, with 17 points in less than four minutes (55-64, 24′). On the other side, a great Wendel David Jr. (16 points in the third quarter) brought his team to a tie (70-70, 28′). However, a partial 0-7 put a minimal gap before the Lleida triple that would conclude the third quarter (73-77).

The fourth period also started from outside, with Sergi Costa’s execution. A partial 1-8 has placed Girona’s second maximum advantage of eleven points (74-85, 32′). From there, the team from Lleida reduced the gap but never surpassed the ten-point barrier, with a team from Girona that scored the highest score of the season (85-97).

The next game for the seniors is on Saturday, February 8 (8 p.m.) against CB Prat at the Joan Busquet stadium.

*Statements by Alex Formento:

“I want to congratulate my players for the effort they have shown and the concentration they have shown against a rival with so much success. To encourage Pardinyes with the remaining stretch because his philosophy arouses a sympathy in all of us. Going into the match, the first half cost a lot because we had clear things in defense aware of Pardinyes’ outside ability but his success was more his merit than ours. They scored two points in the paint in the first half. My congratulations to my players came, not to stop believing in what we were doing, but to implement a different defensive method that required a lot of communication. I’m very happy with the great second half we did, which meant a significant physical deployment, and the fluency we found in attack in the second half. There’s still a long way to go but I’m satisfied: it’s time to continue.”

“It was clear that we had to do different things because even if the opponent was hitting from eight meters, we had to react. With changes and a lot of communication we had to take them out of this comfort zone. At the same time, we managed to minimize losses and everyone adding from their function” 

Statistics

Photo: Sergi Geronès