A BAXI Manresa team defeats Veolia Towers Hamburg
All the players contributed in a great match at the Nou Congost. Benitez and Oriola were the standouts.
99 BAXI Manresa I Dani Pérez 2, Obasohan 9, Reyes 13, Steinbergs 10 and Golden 4; Akobundu-Ehiogu 6, Benitez 17, Gaspà 5, Ubal 9, Knudsen 2, Olinde 6 and Oriola 16
72 Veolia Towers Hamburg I Gray 2, Wimberg 9, Daniels IV 7, Ogbe 4 and Perrin 20; Thorpe 9, Rich 3, Maronka 4, Mueller, Breunig 10, and Turudic 4
Partials: 19-20, 31-19, 28-19, 21-14
BAXI Manresa resumed competition after the FIBA World Cup window break with a resounding victory against Germany's Veolia Towers Hamburg in the final game of the first round of the Eurocup regular season (99-72).
The players coached by Diego Ocampo got off to a good start and took an early lead (12-8), but the visitors responded and rallied with nine consecutive points (12-17). Subsequently, the home team closed the gap to just one point at the end of the first quarter (19-20).
In the second quarter, the home team, led by Benitez, dominated the scoreboard from start to finish, and an 8-0 run allowed them to reach a maximum lead of thirteen points (50-37), which the Germans reduced before halftime (50-39).
Returning from the locker room, Manresa continued to control the game and, with Oriola as their standout player, extended their lead, which reached twenty points by the end of the third quarter (78-58).
In the final ten minutes, the visitors were unable to get back into the game, and the Bages team's margin reached as many as 29 points (91-62). In the final stretch, the Nou Congost crowd enjoyed the team's performance, and Ocampo took the opportunity to experiment with some tactics.
On Sunday at 12:00, BAXI Manresa will visit the challenging Joventut Badalona arena for another Catalan derby in the Liga Endesa.