Vitoria (Spain), Oct 17 (EFE) .- Lenovo Tenerife, with another stellar performance by Uruguayan Bruno Fitipaldo, bombed a Baskonia this Sunday that ran out of gunpowder in the last quarter and saw how the whole of the islands surpassed him by 65-71 in a match, corresponding to the sixth day of the Spanish League, which he turned around in the last moments.
The Tenerifeans scored 15 triples in a game that closed with only six points from the Baskonistas in a last period in which the Catalans failed to play patiently and with released pitches.
Fitipaldo was the best of the aurinegros with 22 credits, scoring fundamental baskets and successfully directing his team. On the premises, Rokas Giedraitis was again the most regular with 17 points and 21 PIR credits.
The islanders threatened from the triple from the start and added three by three to open the first gap of the duel with a 2-11 and much prominence for Kyle Wiltjer in each attack of the aurinegros, who perfectly read the advantages generated by the defensive changes of the premises.
The passing of the minutes did not change the game. The Catalans suffered to make a basket and the triple the fundamental weapon of Tenerife that added five from beyond the arc of 6.75 to go ahead 17-21 after the first round.
Those of Txus Vidorreta missed several free shots and this allowed Baskonia to get closer on the scoreboard, although it was difficult for the Basques to rotate in defense and take advantage of static attacks.
The visitors sharpened their aim and between Bruno Fitipaldo and Kyle Witljer -16 points in the first half- they placed a 22-35 that forced Baskonia to climb defensive lines to avoid the open shots of their rival.
Dusko Ivanovic changed the defense on the aurinegro scorer and put two bases on the track in search of a reaction from his team, which came with a 3 + 1 from Italian Simone Fontecchio who signed 16-2 in five minutes to turn the ball around. match, 38-37.
The break was good for Tenerife, who better organized their ideas in the locker room to regain command of the game after the restart, but three consecutive triples by Lithuanian Rokas Giedraitis returned the initiative to a Baskonia who found himself more comfortable on both sides of the track.
A new 19-3 run opened an important gap for the Baskonians for the first time in the game, who faced the last period with a ten-point lead, 59-49.
The slogan in the aurinegros was clear, look for the inside advantage with Julian Gamble and from there rotate the ball until finding the released shooter. Thus they were placed only four points behind the Basques, 63-59 at 6:29 from the end.
Both stopped their scoring rhythm in their tracks. Baskonia could not score any basket in play in the last eight minutes, while those of Txus Vidorreta turned the match around with two triples that were definitive for the final 65-71.
– Data sheet:
65 – Baskonia (17 + 21 + 21 + 6): Granger (2), Giedraitis (17), Fontecchio (9), Costello (8) and Nnoko (4) -starting five-, Baldwin (9), Marinkovic (- ), Enoch (8) and Sedekerskis (9).
71 – Lenovo Tenerife (21 + 16 + 12 + 22): Fitipaldo (15), Sastre (7), Doornekamp (3), Wiltjer (19) and Guerra (2) -starting five-, Gamble (9), Salin ( 11), Huertas (2), Sergio Rodríguez (-) and Suleijmanovic (3).
Referees: Fernando Calatrava, Rafael Serrano and Andrés Fernández. Without eliminated.
Incidents: match corresponding to the sixth day of the Endesa League played at the Fernando Buesa Arena in Vitoria before 7,021 spectators. The Baskonia players wore a pink warm-up shirt in support of the fight against breast cancer.