Badalona (Barcelona), Feb 12 (EFE).- Lenovo Tenerife clearly defeated Joventut Badalona at the Palau Olímpic (58-74) five days before both teams met in Granada, in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey, in what supposes a blow of effect of the team of Txus Vidorreta facing the match on Thursday.
Marcelinho Huertas (22 points), Georgi Shermadini (20 points) and Joan Sastre (15 points) dismantled the Green and Blacks in one of the worst games of the season for Carles Duran’s men, who conceded their third consecutive defeat in the Endesa League.
Ante Tomic was the only Vedinegro who was up to the task with 23 points and 12 rebounds. The rest of his teammates did not reach any of the 8 points of individual scoring. The 3 of 22 in triples and the little presence in the game of Guillem Vives due to the accumulation of fouls were other keys to the Catalan defeat.
The defenses prevailed over the attacks in a first half in which the game of the green and black was conditioned by their lousy success in the triples (2 of 14), which meant that their maximum advantage was only four points (26- 22, minute 17).
Shermadini starred in the first quarter for the team from Tenerife, scoring 10 of his team’s first 12 points (10-12, min. 8) and canceling out Ante Tomic in defense, who only played comfortably when the Georgian was on the bench.
The Tenerife defense also annulled the other green-and-black mainstay, Pau Ribas, who did not find the ring until the second quarter while Ferran Bassas’ 0 of 5 triples meant that the game was always even.
Lenovo Tenerife was three up at the start of the second quarter (19-22, min. 14) with triples by Doornekamp, Sastre and Fitipaldo, but Joventut was more intense in defense under their rim and when the people of Tenerife lost the long-distance marksmanship regained control of the match.
Ante Tomic and Pau Ribas played their best minutes in the closing moments of the quarter to take their team to the break with a two-point lead (29-27).
La Penya looked like he was going to break the match after three consecutive baskets by Tomic (36-27, min. 23) but the opposite happened. Huertas and Shermadini teamed up to change the direction of the match and between them they turned the score around with a 0-12 run (36-39, min. 27).
The black-and-white continued to miss triples to score only two baskets, the work of Birgander, and a free throw by Tomic until the end of the quarter, which ended with Lenovo Tenerife eight up (41-49) after two triples by Sastre and Wiltjer that closed a uncontested partial 5-22.
Huertas continued to make and break without opposition in the last period to take his team up to a fifteen point lead (47-62, min. 36) while Tomic was still the only one who added for the locals until Bassas scored the third triple de la Penya at 3’50 from the end (52-62).
The triple ignited the Olímpic but Sastre and Doornekamp dampened the local spirits and calmed down their team (52-66, min. 37) to ensure victory, which reached a difference of up to twenty points (54-74, min. 39).
– Data sheet:
58 – Joventut Badalona (15+14+12+17): Vives (4), Ribas (5), Parra (6), Willis (2), Tomic (23) -initial team-, Busquets (-), Paul ( 7), Bassas (3), Ventura (2) and Birgander (6)
74 – Lenovo Tenerife (13+14+22+25): Huertas (22), Salin (-), Todorovic (2), Doornekamp (5), Shermadini (20) -initial team-, Fitipaldo (3), Sastre ( 15), Wiltjer (6), War (1), Sulejmanovic (-)
Referees: Pérez Pérez, Padrós and Zamorano. They eliminated Derek Willis for five personal fouls (min. 39)
Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 22 of the Endesa League played at the Palau Olímpic in Badalona before 4,423 spectators.
(c) EFE Agency