If in the first semifinal of the Champions League, Tenerife put themselves in the pilot’s seat and led the match under his command for practically the 40 minutes, removing some insignificant hiccups, in the second, the one that should confirm that this BCL has a Spanish accent , Manresa did not suffer great stress against Ludwigsburg either, whom many pointed to as Cinderella and for three quarters he acted as a rambunctious guest at the Bages party. Miribilla was Israeli in the first session, with the Hapoel fans at full blast, and Catalan in the second, with almost 4,000 fans that made the venue the third Nou Congost, since the other two shine in Catalonia. Sunday is an important day for this endearing club, which has the Cup of the Creus legend and the League of Casimiro and his heroic boys. He sees himself in his first European final and can reach the sky he has been waiting for so long. Pedro MartÃnez, a coach whose numbers are overwhelming, won the Korac 18 days after taking the reins at Joventut. He was 28 years old. Now his career is relaunching into the stratosphere.
Manresa has been the revelation of the ACB all season. Too much time displaying a physical basketball, fast and enjoyable for the senses. His blessed madness requires a lot of energy and will require extra fuel in this final phase of the Champions League. On top of that, being surrounded by so many people adds pressure. Ludwigsburg, in clear minority in terms of encouragement with some 150 heroes in the stands, was very clear that they should not let Baxi run. And he did it in many phases of the semifinal. He was helped in attack by Simon, a great scorer after bounce, who had 14 points in the first half. But then that cannon evaporated. It is a curious team. His coach, John Patrick, has five children and two play on his team. The rotations are continuous to maintain the physical exuberance, because behind they are tough, they jump at everything and put their hands in like octopuses. Every time someone threw the ball on the ground, a thousand termites came. Pedro MartÃnez released less to his reserves.
Manresa began to block in attack due to their errors in the triple 1/9 at halftime. Not even when they launched released did they find the precise wrist blow. They insisted on playing forward and there they were easily covered. It was more convenient to search the back doors or the corners. Sima became life insurance for Pedro MartÃnez against the physical German defense. Those of Bages knew how to find the international tower in Spain. They went out on fire after the break to avoid scares and step by step, they made an appointment with Tenerife. The yellow resistance was giving way because in the end a team that has stood out in the ACB is undermining the representative of a minor European league. A great weight was lifted from the Catalan team with a triple by Maye with 1:59 remaining in the last quarter: 44-52. Francisco took the reins and had a great base duel with Radebauch. Simon, key in the German flood, did not appear in the second part and logic crushed what would have been a surprise. Four minutes were thrown without scoring when the rope tightened and unlikely things failed under the hoop. They bowed with honor.