The Obradoiro delves into the wound of Bilbao Basket

The Obradoiro has taken the measure to Bilbao Basket this year and has had almost two hours to delve into a wound that is beginning to be very deep. He threw a jug of cold water on Miribilla in the first round, with the Scrubb brothers in the role of the Daltons spreading panic and Robertson as an addition to the diabolical group; and in the second in the Multiusos Fontes do Sar they have repeated their triumph, this one much more comfortable, almost in a massage chair of those that hits outbursts to relieve tension to those who lean on it. In the capital of Galicia, two of those teams aspiring to reverse the logic in the ACB have met, but at this point in the regular season, one goes to heaven (sleeps in the playoff zone) and the other falls and falls down the hells. The people of Santiago limited themselves to having order and a certain poise, they needed little more. They have 8 victories in the last 11 rounds. And the people from Bilbao have four consecutive setbacks, six in their last seven appearances. The third quarter annihilated them. If Ponsarnau alluded yesterday to a bird, making use of the cyclist simile, the morale of this team is more like all the birds in a full peloton in a great round in stages.

One hundred courageous followers from Biscay defied the cold and appeared in the city of the apostle. The tradition of the ‘five’ that devastate Bilbao Basket is perpetuated: Marc Gasol, Nnaji, Tomic, Pusvovyi in the Champions League… and today, Blazevic, who has roamed freely in the paint. In the end, he had his ups and downs with Sulejmanovic, in an example of the impotence that has taken over a team that, like Obradoiro, wanted to discuss a ticket to the Cup with the greats very recently. There are no bases, there is a lack of confidence in the shot and the ‘fives’ are tiny as tacks against anyone who stands in front of them. If the problems generating offensive play are added to another fateful night in the shot from 6.75 (4 of 19, 21 percent), competing becomes an almost impossible mission.

Surne appeared without Hakanson due to muscular problems, but that is nothing with the problems and absences of Obra. He is like a chrome physically the Swede after a year with so much hustle and bustle. That was already the auction to raise a decent opposition against Obradoiro. Ponsarnau moved the bench as much as he could and did a complete rotation before the end of the first quarter. He achieved more energy than quality, but it’s something. There is no freshness in the legs and the head has a seemingly irresolvable blockage. A breath is enough to remind this team what their consecutive defeats weigh. And that they started more solid than other times. With 19-18, very little circulation of the ball began to be noticed and, although the ‘five’ were more participatory than on recent occasions, the locals stepped up the pace, with Robertson scoring a 3+1. The score went to 25-18. There was not the lace yet. Blazevic began to command under the rim and Vicedo, without any hand puncturing his shots, scored the triples of the local takeoff. A 15-0 left the matter settled: 57-40, at 6:11 to rest.

Radicevic was unable to manage any pace. And Ubal is not yet ripe for these fights. The team doesn’t give up, but they don’t give him their basketball, they lack resources to have decent scores. Robertson, yes, he has many points on his hands and he did what he wanted. Ponsarnau protested vigorously at the end of the third quarter and was punished with technique. Perhaps he was looking for a reaction, but his team continued to bleed to death, he didn’t even serve a baseline, he ran over with a divided ball that passed through many hands and ended up out of bounds… The last straw is that Radicevic damaged a finger. The last quarter was a pain in the teeth and guts together. None of the two teams scored in seven minutes because Obradoiro, who was too comfortable, caught the rival’s lack of tact. It could be noticed this chaotic week in which Robertson, Westermann and Álvaro Muñoz hardly exercised due to various discomforts. AND Suarez forced to play despite suffering back pain Without Bender or Walker, they imposed themselves by trade. At least the people from Biscay made up the beating a bit, which reached 20 (72-52). Lately they go from spanking to spanking.

Withey climbs to the historic podiums of dunks and blocks of Bilbao

Jeff Withey has managed to get on the historic podiums of dunks and blocks for Bilbao Basket with the ball he crushed in the rival ring and the four blocks achieved in the Santiago game. On the dunk list, the 32-year-old, 2.13-year-old American assimilated to Sweden equaled the 42 achieved by Latavious Williams and is now only surpassed by Ondrej Balvin (93) and Fred Weis (73).

As for the blocks, the Californian interior has tied the 64 of a historic Basque club like Axel Hervelle and is only one of Balvin’s 65, although very far from the 176 that Weis put in his five campaigns in Bilbao between 2004 and 2009. In addition, last week Withey also entered the ‘top 10’ of maximum rebounders of the Bilbao team in which he occupies the tenth position with 298 captures in a ranking led by Axel Hervelle (1,327).

Alex Mumbrú (1,314), Marko Banic (1,083), Fred Weis (907), Javi Salgado (429), Ondrej Balvin (427), Germán Gabriel (399), Richard Scott (340) and Marko Todorovic (308) still rank for in front of the interior of San Diego who played his 52nd match with Bilbao Basket in Santiago.

Fernández: “I am super happy; It was a very difficult week”

Moncho Fernández was “super happy” with his team’s “deserved” victory against Bilbao Basket after a “very complicated” week due to the physical problems suffered by several players. “We entered the game a little cold, clueless, defensively, with mistakes that we were later able to correct. Then we were very good, we reached the break with an advantage and in the third quarter we almost left the game seen for judgment. I am leaving super happy because it was a very difficult week, ”he commented at a press conference.

The ‘Alchemist’ did not hide his happiness at being at this stage of the season with ten victories, but his speech did not change because “we only think about the next game against Girona, marathons end up taking small steps and that is what we are focused on ”. He highlighted the match of Lithuanian Marek Blazevic (19 points, PIR of 23), whom he sees as prepared to “get on the train” of the Spanish league despite his youth -21 years-.

“The ACB is a very complicated league, and everything requires time and learning. He is very young, his obligations here are very demanding, even though he was in a Euroleague team before. He is putting everything to help us, but I am convinced that his help is still to come, ”he said.

Ponsarnau: “We lost the game in the third quarter”

Despite the defeat, Ponsarnau pointed out that his team took “a step forward” in their game except in the third quarter, when the game slipped away after conceding a 15-0 run. “We started the game better than the last few days away from home in terms of solidity, but the small details penalized us a lot: that triple that they take after steps, that rebound that you don’t control and they hit another triple…In the rotation too we have found a little more energy. The difference of seven points at halftime was greater than what had happened in the game, ”he analyzed.

“In the third quarter -he continued in his appearance before the journalists- we started very well but suddenly we did very, very badly. We didn’t follow our rules and between Robertson and Philip Scrubb we were heavily penalized. We lost the game there.” He applauded the reaction of his players because they had “some option” to return to the game, but they found themselves, he pointed out, with a “very solid Obradoiro and with “very clear ideas”.

“They haven’t given us any option”, stressed Ponsarnau, for whom “except for that moment in the third quarter in which we lost all our solidity, in the rest I think we have taken a step forward although I know it is difficult to see it like that after that third quarter so bad. Asked about Hakanson’s absence, he explained that the club’s medical services advised the coaching staff to “stop” due to his muscular problems.