The Vitorians, led again by Markus Howard, fall to Partizan and must still guarantee their ‘Play-In’ position
MADRID, March 19 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Baskonia, despite another good game by the American guard Markus Howard, fell this Tuesday against Partizan in Belgrade (87-83) on the thirtieth day of the Regular Phase of the Euroleague, a result that complicates their goal of finishing in the ‘Top 6’, which gives direct access to the ‘Playoff’, and which will force them to fight to guarantee the ‘Play-In’ positions.
In a match in which they were in tow at all times – but in which they fought in the last stretch – and in which they recovered from the ‘scares’ of the blows from Howard and Tadas Sedekerskis, Dusko Ivanovic’s men stumbled upon a Serbian team much more in need and led by Bruno Caboclo, who finished with a ‘double-double’ of 18 points and 13 rebounds and a PIR of 28, and by Frank Kaminsky, with 20 points.
Not even Howard’s 26 points were enough to avoid a defeat that ended a streak of four consecutive victories, two of them in the top continental competition. With this, they further compress the table, in which they are now ninth, penultimate ‘Play-In’ position, with a balance of 16-14, just before completing the last double day of the Regular Phase, in which they will visit the Zalgiris Kaunas.
In the Stark Arena cauldron, Dusko Ivanovic’s team seemed somewhat stuck at the beginning, in which the Serbian team, without an important piece such as power forward Zach LeDay due to the death of his father, played with more urgency and more success; Compared to the home team’s 75% three-point shooting in the first quarter, the Basque team scored only 22% of those they attempted.
But, without a doubt, the big scare of the opening set came in the final seconds, when Howard – author of 100 points in the last three games of the Vitorian team – sprained his ankle and had to leave the court limping. In the light, Baskonia was seven down (23-16).
Zeljko Obradovic’s team continued to increase their lead, which reached +11 four minutes before the break (38-27) thanks to the leadership of Brazilian forward Bruno Caboclo, who went to the locker room with 15 points and a PIR of 20. Even so, his mistakes in both attack and defense allowed the visitors to get closer.
Precisely in a partisan loss came a new setback for the Baskonists; This time it was the Lithuanian Tadas Sedekerskis who was injured in the fall after scoring and bringing his team closer on the scoreboard. Despite everything, Baskonia did not leave the game and, with Howard back on the court, managed to reduce its deficit to just two points at the end of the second quarter (44-42).
A 10-2 partial in the restart made the situation complicated again for Ivanovic’s team (54-44), indolent in the face of Caboclo’s attacks and the shots from the three-point line of the American center Frank Kaminsky, with a 3 of 3 in the third quarter.
Only Howard, with 20 points and 4 of the 5 three-pointers scored by the Vitorians, kept the team afloat, nine points down heading into the final quarter (69-60), but it seemed simply a mirage. Sedekerskis jumped back onto the court, but his knee discomfort forced him to leave the court again.
However, nerves took over Partizan in the final stretch, with two lethal losses that made the Basques get dangerously close with 39 seconds remaining (85-83). A basket by Dozier ended the uncertainty and condemned Baskonia, which fell into a pavilion where Partizan has only given up in three of its 13 games this season in Europe.
Now, Baskonia will complete the double matchday on Friday at the home of Zalgiris Kaunas before facing, now in the Endesa League, the third away game of the week in the derby against Surne Bilbao Basket. In the continental competition, three of the four remaining matches will be away from the Buesa Arena: Zalgiris, Real Madrid and Valencia Basket, and they will only host Anadolu Efes at home.
DATA SHEET.
–RESULT: PARTIZAN, 87 – BASKONIA, 83 (44-42, at halftime).
–EQUIPMENT:
PARTIZAN: Dozier (6), Punter (18), Ponitka (6), Caboclo (18) and Kaminsky (20) –starting quintet–; Avramovic (9), Andjusic (3), Jaramaz (2), Nunnally (3), Smailagic (-), Trifunovic (2) and Koprivica (-).
BASKONIA: Miller-McIntyre (4), Howard (26), Sedekerskis (6), Marinkovic (11) and Kotsar (2) –starting quintet–; Costello (13), Moneke (13), Theodore (4), Raieste (-), Diez (-), Rogkavopoulos (2) and Chiozza (2).
–PARTIALS: 23-16, 21-26, 25-18 and 18-23.
–REFEREES: Lottermoser, Vilius and Vyklicky. No eliminated.
–PAVILLION: Stark Arena.
