Spanish League, Game 12: December 15-16, 2007 - SPAIN

June 20, 2013

Spanish League, Game 12: December 15-16, 2007

It was a special weekend in the Spanish League, as Real Madrid faces DKV Joventut while AXA FC Barcelona went against Tau Ceramica in a rematch of last year's semifinals. At the end of this round, Madrid, Barcelona and Joventut tie atop the standings each with a 10-2 record. Real Madrid survived a big thriller by edging DKV Joventut 65-71 in Badalona on Saturday. Louis Bullock led the winners with 19 points while Axel Hervelle had 13 for Madrid. Rudy Fernandez had 12 points for Joventut while Edu Hernandez-Sonseca added 10. A 0-9 final run allowed Madrid to escape with a win. Meanwhile, Barcelona needed overtime to edge Tau 89-85 on Sunday morning. Jaka Lakovic led the winners with 16 points and forced overtime by hitting free throws in the final seconds of regulation. Pete Mickeal led Tau with 25 points. Meanwhile, Pamesa Valencia improved to 8-4 by thrashing Grupo Begar Leon 96-74 at home on Sunday morning behind 20 points from Shammond Williams. Unicaja went up to 6-6 by beating Akasvayu 73-83 in Girona on Sunday. Jiri Welsch led the winners with 19 points. Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas dropped to 5-7 due to a 68-65 road loss against MMT Estudiantes. In other games, iurbentia Bilbao Basket edged Grupo Capitol Valladolid 73-74, ViveMenorca topped Alta Gestion Fuenlabrada 57-53, C.B. Granada downed Ricoh Manresa 74-76 while Cajasol beat Polaris World CB Murcia 78-65.

Real Madrid took one of the biggest showdowns this weekend by edging DKV Joventut 65-71 in Badalona on Saturday. Both teams tie atop the standings with a 10-2 record. Bullock led the winners with 19 points while Hervelle had 13 for Madrid. Fernandez had 12 points for Joventut while Hernandez-Sonseca added 10. Jerome Moiso, Ricky Rubio and a three-pointer by Fernandez allowed Madrid to get a 20-17 edge after 10 minutes. Back-to-back triples by Lubos Barton and Rubio, as well as a final basket by Sonseca allowed Joventut to keep a 37-35 edge at halftime. Madrid had a strong start after the break, as Felipe Reyes and Hervelle led the guests to a 44-51 margin. Demond Mallet and Moiso got the hosts within 53-56 after 30 minutes. Fernandez and an outstanding Jan Jagla allowed Joventut to get its last lead, 65-62. A 0-9 run highlighted by a game-breaking triple by Raul Lopez allowed Madrid to escape with a win. Unicaja improved to 6-6 by beating Akasvayu 73-83 in Girona on Sunday. Welsch led the winners with 19 points. German Gabriel added 17 while Boniface Ndong had 12 for Unicaja. Branko Cvetkovic had 27 points for Girona while Jackson Vroman added 11. Cvetkovic and a final basket by Darryl Middleton allowed Akasvayu to get a 54-53 edge after 30 minutes. It didn't last long, however, as Bojan Popovic and Welsch fueled a game-breaking 0-14 run that allowed Unicaja to keep full control of the game until the final buzzer.

AXA FC Barcelona joined the three-way tie atop the standings at 10-2 by edging Tau Ceramica 89-85 in overtime on Sunday morning. Lakovic led the winners with 16 points and forced overtime by hitting free throws in the final seconds of regulation. Denis Marconato and Alex Acker each added 14, Mario Kasun had 12 while Fran Vazquez got 10 for Barcelona. Pete Mickeal led Tau with 25 points. Tiago Splitter added 18, Mirza Teletovic had 12 and Sergi Vidal 10. Barcelona had a 18-15 edge after 10 minutes but Mickeal and an unstoppable Teletovic kept Tau in the game. Even when Kasun dunked it to give Barcelona a 28-21 margin, Splitter got Tau within 38-35 at halftime. Mickeal took over after the break and singlehandedly gave Tau its biggest lead, 44-51, enough for the guests to keep a 51-57 margin after 30 minutes. Kasun brought Barcelona back in the game, while free throws by Lakovic got Barcelona as close as 69-70 with a minute to go. Barcelona opted to foul on Splitter, who missed 1 of 2. Lakovic drew a foul and tied the game at 71-71 with 6 seconds to go, enough to force overtime. Vazquez and Lakovic combined for all points in a 9-0 opening run that sealed the outcome early in the extra period. Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas dropped to 5-7 due to a 68-65 road loss against end-of-the-table MMT Estudiantes. Carlos Suarez led the winners with 26 points. Carl English led Gran Canaria with 19 points while Sergio Perez and Sitapha Savane each added 11. Gran Canaria trailed all the way in the fourth quarter and even when it got within 61-58 with 3 minutes to go, it could not complete its comeback. Pamesa Valencia improved to 8-4 by thrashing Grupo Begar Leon 96-74 at home on Sunday morning behind 20 points from Williams. Stanko Barac and Albert Oliver each added 14, Ruben Douglas had 13 while Albert Miralles and a recovered Ruben Garces got 11 apiece in an easy home win for Pamesa, that led 54-38 at halftime and never looked back.

LAST GAME GAME 12 December 15-16, 2007
Day	Match	Result
Dec. 15	Estudiantes vs. G. Canaria	68 -65
Dec. 16	AXA FCB vs. TAU Cerámica	89 -85
Dec. 15	Valladolid vs. Bilbao	73 -74
Dec. 16	ViveMenorca vs. Fuenlab.	57 -53
Dec. 15	Cajasol vs. CB Murcia	78 -65
Dec. 15	DKV Joventut vs. R. Madrid	65 -71
Dec. 16	Akasvayu Girona vs.Unicaja	73 -83
Dec. 16	Pamesa Valencia vs. León	96 -74
Dec. 16	Ricoh Manresa vs. Granada	74 -76

NEXT GAME GAME 13 December 22-23, 2007
Day	Match
Dec. 22	Unicaja vs. AXA F.C. Barc.
Dec. 22	León vs. Akasvayu Girona
Dec. 23	G. Canaria vs. DKV Joven.
Dec. 23	Bilbao vs. Pamesa
Dec. 23	R. Madrid vs. ViveMenorca
Dec. 23	C.B. Granada vs. Cajasol
Dec. 23	CB Murcia vs. Manresa
Dec. 23	Fuenlabrada vs. Estudian.
Dec. 23	TAU Cerám. vs. Valladolid

	STANDINGS	TG	W	L	P+	P-
1	DKV Joventut	12	10	2	1056	913
2	Real Madrid	12	10	2	943	890
3	AXA F.C. Barcelona	12	10	2	921	875
4	iurbentia Bilbao Basket	12	9	3	912	841
5	Pamesa Valencia	12	8	4	940	851
6	TAU Cerámica	12	7	5	986	893
7	Unicaja	12	6	6	932	873
8	C.B. Granada	12	6	6	896	895
9	Akasvayu Girona	12	6	6	958	987
10	Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas	12	5	7	871	871
11	Ricoh Manresa	12	5	7	974	990
12	Polaris World CB Murcia	12	5	7	860	913
13	Grupo Capitol Valladolid	12	5	7	936	999
14	Cajasol	12	4	8	930	942
15	ViveMenorca	12	4	8	889	959
16	Alta Gestión Fuenlabrada	12	3	9	841	913
17	Grupo Begar León	12	3	9	858	979
18	MMT Estudiantes	12	2	10	861	980