Unicaja beat Brose Baskets 79-78 in a thriller - Euroleague Recap
On Wednesday, thousands of fans, who had assembled at the Stechert Arena to support their team Brose Baskets, left the arena heartbroken after Berni Rodriguez spoiled their party by stealing victory for Unicaja from the jaws of Brose Baskets.
Brose Baskets dominated the first quarter; however Unicaja made a vicious comeback in the second quarter and levelled the playing field. From that instance, until the very end, it was a see saw duel as the balance of the game kept shifting from one side to the other. Brose were leading by 1 point (78-77) with less than a minute to go in the game, but a jumper by Berni not only snatched the lead, but also the game for the visitors.
Joel Freeland was the game’s top scorer and led the winning team with 18 points and 7 rebounds on a 7 for 10 shooting from the field. Luka Zoric, the second highest scorer from the side, ended with 13 points and 7 rebounds. Nedzad Sinanovic (11) and Tremmell Darden (10) were the other two prominent scorers from the side.
Brian Roberts and Markus Slaughter both marshalled the home team’s offense scoring 16 points each along with 10 rebounds in between them - 6 by Slaughter and 4 by Brian. Julius Jenkins and Anton Gavel also played their part, scoring 14 each; however, all the combined effort proved futile in the end.
Unicaja drew the first blood courtesy of Joel Freeland, who scored through a driving layup in the first minute of the game.
However after that, it was all Brose Baskets.
Three 3-pointers and two thunderous dunks in the next few minutes provided Baskets a healthy 8 point lead 15-8. A three pointer in the ninth minute by Berni helped Unicaja in cutting the lead but by the end of quarter Brose found themselves ahead 27-22.
A 6 point run by Unicaja at the start of second quarter helped them in getting the lead for the first time in the game. However, Baskets did not let them runaway with the show completely. A three-pointer in the 8th minute by Unicaja’s Kristaps Valters extended the lead to 5 points 40-35. But, it was quickly answered by another downtown strike by Brose. The first half concluded with layup from Unicaja’s Gerald Fitch to ensure them a 42-38 advantage.
Anton’s three pointer in the third minute of third quarter helped Baskets getting close again however Unicaja made sure they stay ahead of Baskets by chipping in with points at regular intervals. In the last few minutes of the frame, Baskets scored in quick succession and tied it at 60.
However a three pointer in the dying seconds by Nedzad ensured that Unicaja entered the deciding quarter with a two point lead 63-61.
Baskets had some fight left in them though. They started the quarter in a dominating fashion, with two three-pointers in the first five minutes, to build a 70-68 advantage.
However, Unicaja didn’t back off one bit and the lead kept shifting. With two minutes to go in game, the scores were levelled at 74 all. Valter scored through two free throws to get Unicaja ahead by two points but a breathtaking three-pointer in the last minute by Basket’s Brian again shifted the momentum and got Baskets ahead by 78-77.
It was Berni’s jumper in the dying seconds that proved decisive and won Unicaja the thriller.
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