Back to the Canary Islands: BAXI Manresa force decider against defending champs

MANRESA (Spain) - BAXI Manresa and Lenovo Tenerife were the protagonists of another instant classic in Spain on Wednesday, with Manresa picking up a two-point win to send the Quarter-Finals series back to the Canary Islands. It all came down to the final possession of the game.

Manresa stood their ground, won the game 85-83, and now have a chance of reaching the Final 4 if they steal a win in San Cristobal de La Laguna next week.

Turning point: In a game with no double digit leads and ten lead changes, Adam Waczynski's only three-pointer of the night made the pendulum swing Manresa's way in the final four minutes. Pedro Martinez's men took a 77-74 lead on that shot and stayed a step ahead of their rivals the rest of the way.

Lenovo Tenerife did have a chance to force overtime on their last possession as Bruno Fitipaldo recognized a switch and a mismatch under the rim, but his pass to Giorgi Shermadini was too hot to handle and Devin Robinson's help-side defense was perfectly timed to poke the ball away as the clock run out.

Game hero: In just another Pedro Martinez coaching masterpiece, all 12 BAXI Manresa players wrote their name on the scoreboard. The only two guys in double figures were Brancou Badio and Devin Robinson, with 16 points each, but Robinson did that little extra.

The 28-year-old power forward collected 16 points while shooting 3-of-3 from three-point land, with 6 rebounds also to his name. That was fitting, since his BCL season averages stand at 16.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

Robinson was a late addition to the team, but a perfect one at that. Since arriving in Manresa, he is in Top 5 in scoring in the BCL, and has shot a combined 10-of-20 from beyond the arc across eight games.

 

Stats don't lie: Manresa kept the ball under control all game long, committing just ten turnovers to Tenerife's 15. That allowed them to be a bit faster, earning a +7 edge in fast break points, and their aforementioned depth put them +8 up in bench points.

Bottom line: Another beautiful night of European basketball in the Pavello Nou Congost was also another dramatic night of European basketball. This was Manresa's fourth win in games decided by single possessions this season, tying the mark Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem reached earlier in the season.

As for Tenerife, injuries came at the worst possible moment, leading to 30 minutes on the night for Marcelinho Huertas (19 points, 7 assists). Giorgi Shermadini could not control the last possession, but he was impressive all night long, getting to 17 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the free-throw line. Coach Txus Vidorreta probably hopes time will heal all wounds before next week's matchup, at home.

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