J14 – EBA AB: Distances are maintained in the upper part

After a week-long day in which surprises were the dominant note in the group AB from EBA League, this past weekend everything returned to ‘normal’ in the matchday 14, with the victory of the first six classified to keep everything as it was in the fight for the positions that give access to the promotion playoff. Tormes remains firm at the top, while Reino de León, Obradoiro and Porriño remain even in the fight for second place, to which Basket León aspires, who marches with one victory less, and Chantada, with two wins less than the second square. As for the lower zone, a good day for the Asturian teams, with Gijón adding an important victory to seek the jump that allows it to leave the relegation zone, and the Oviedo subsidiary achieving its second victory of the season.

There were no surprises with USAL La Antigua, which completes this week full of matches, managing to slightly extend its lead at the top of the standings after winning (87-54) to CB The Arrow. The charros continue with a firm step, adding thirteen victories in a row, cementing this last triumph in a great second quarter in which they broke the score to reach the break with an income of twenty points that left things very expensive. Ukawuba and Yengue once again led a good choral performance by Tormes, which in the second half would finish sentencing, leaving the last minutes without emotion, being the only moment in which La Flecha managed to equalize the game a bit and make up the score slightly, with Castaño and David Fernández as the most prominent.

In second position follows Leclerc León Caja Rural RdL after returning to the path of triumph97-75) at the expense of Hereda-Ávila Authentic-El Bulevar. The Leonese came out in a whirlwind to resolve on the fast track, and the 31-14 part of the first quarter seemed to leave everything on track. Balasko and Sergio Martínez were unstoppable on the inside, with Llamas complementing perfectly from the perimeter. Óbila suffered, but managed to recover from the second quarter, equalizing the game, and even approaching after a good start after the break, with Villalba, Izquierdo and Vukcevic as the most outstanding players. But Reino de León was not up to the task of allowing himself to be surprised with a comeback at home, and this was demonstrated at the start of the last set, pressing again to make the gap bigger again, already definitively sentencing the crash for add a new triumph.

He also won again Obradoiro Silleda, albeit with more hardship than could be expected in the face of a Claret Innoporc who sold his defeat dearly64-69). From the beginning it was seen that Obradoiro was not going to have a simple match against Claret’s Segovians, who despite marching bottoms without yet knowing victory, held up well, keeping the match always even, with Young and Mínguez at a very good level. The minutes passed and everything remained stable, with the two teams unable to take off on the scoreboard, directing things to a final game full of emotion, where Cal took the initiative in the visitors, who at that key moment finally managed to open a small gap that was enough to close a narrow triumph, leaving a Claret with honey on his lips who saw his first victory close by.

The leader’s trio of pursuers is still closed for Porriño Base Basketball, which was imposed (56-75) still Traumacor Culleredo that is still mired in a slump in results that, after four consecutive defeats, has already put him in the relegation zone. The visiting team always set the rhythm of the match, which without endorsing great sets to Culleredo, was always gradually increasing its income. Domínguez and Íñigo González were in charge of contributing the points, leading Porriño to leave almost everything sentenced in the absence of ten minutes, after an unfortunate match of the locals in the shot, with very low percentages that improved slightly in the final stretch, with Pau González and Álvaro Añón trying to pull their own to get closer, but without success, finally certifying defeat.

Important triumph for ULE Basket Leon, who had a complicated exit to measure himself Mundioma Marín Ence Peixegalego, but he solved it in the best way (73-77). Everything was based on a great first half from León, with Fede Copes and Rodrigo Llamas pulling his own to open a gap in front of a Marín who was not quite comfortable. It was time for the Galicians to row after the break, returning from the dressing room fifteen points down, but with greater success, which enabled them to start leading the game and cut differences little by little. Hogan and Stefanuto were appearing, with Basket León beginning to suffer to contain the locals, but knowing how to press on defense to contain the reaction of Marín, who finally was not going to be able to finish equalizing things, flying the victory to Leonese lands.

His good streak also continues Ucoga Seguros CB Chantada-Ensino, the only team with the leader that has added a full three games this week, after clearly winning (52-88) on your visit to University of Valladolid. With a solid defense that made the pucelana scoring very difficult, from the beginning Chantada began to make a difference on the scoreboard, pushed by the points of Iglesias and Nery. A University of Valladolid was not at all comfortable that accumulated failures in its attempts to shoot, with Burgoa very alone when trying to equalize things, which made the Galicians go further and further, leaving everything sentenced long before the end of the match, which was reached with a clear victory for Chantada.

The one who manages to get a little closer to the intermediate zone of the classification is a Corinto Gijón Basket that added an important triumph78-71) versus Solgaleo Bosco Salesians. Two direct rivals in the fight to avoid the relegation zone were measured in Asturian lands, and it was the Asturians who hit first, with a great start that helped them to open a small gap. But the reaction from Ourense did not wait, and with Kouadio and Chapero leading the visitors, the score was equalized again, leaving everything to be decided in the last quarter, at which time Fernando Fernández Noval took command to complete his great performance Gijón also relying on Tsimidis points to reopen a small gap that would end up being enough to win.

We conclude the summary with the second victory of the season for the subsidiary of Unicaja Banco Oviedo, which overcame (71-69) still Santo Domingo Betanzos that does not finish detaching itself from the danger zone. The clash developed favorably for Oviedo during three quarters, with Fernando Suárez and Francisco Sánchez contributing points to open a more than interesting gap for the last quarter. Betanzos was not comfortable and began to see how his victory was in great danger, which forced the Galicians to improve in the final stretch to get into the game, something that they managed to do with the help of Pereiro or Daniel Martín, but without success in order to complete the comeback, staying very close to an Oviedo who suffered to stay ahead, but managed to finally keep his loot.

Balasko keeps doing his thing

A few days ago we highlighted the great performance that the Croatian has been offering Demian Balasko for the Kingdom of León. On that day 10 he achieved his first distinction as the best of the day, and he did not have to wait long to reach the second, also repeating as MVP of the day in all the EBA League groups, which continues to confirm the great season that this player has been doing, and it seems that he will not last long in this category. In the victory against Óbila, Balasko added 26 points (11/15 in shots of 2), 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 stolen balls, 2 blocks and 3 received fouls. These numbers allowed him to reach a total of 40 rating, which also represents a new top this week in this group.

Highest rating

40 credits

Demian Balasko (Kingdom of León)

34 credits

Sergio Martínez (Kingdom of León)

28 credits

Cristian Iglesias (Chantada)

Alex Young (Claret)

Top scorers

26 points

Demian Balasko (Kingdom of León)

25 points

Sergio Martínez (Kingdom of León)

Federico Copes (Basket Leon)

Top rebounders

13 rebounds

Marco Villalba (Óbila)

12 rebounds

Christian Añón (Culleredo)

11 rebounds

Óscar González (Basket León)

Top attendees

6 assists

Ezequiel Herrera (Óbila)

5 assists

Iker Besada (Porriño)

Eduardo Castaño (The Arrow)

Antonio Izquierdo (Óbila)

Double-double

Alex Young (Claret) – 17pt, 10rb

Demian Balasko (Kingdom of León) – 28pt, 11rb

Marco Villalba (Óbila) – 21pt, 13rb