May 24, 2012
Spanish King's Cup Quarterfinals: February 8-9, 2007

 
Louis Bullock - Real Madrid The Spanish League King's Cup quarterfinals came to an end in Malaga on Friday with Tau Ceramica and Real Madrid winning their respective games and earning a spot in the next round. DKV Joventut and Winterthur FC Barcelona sealed their ticket to the semifinals by winning their Thursday games, too. Tau Ceramica needed an outstanding Luis Scola to down Caja San Fernando 82-73 in the third quarterfinals matchup. Scola paced the winners with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists while Pablo Prigioni barely missed a double-double with 10 points and 9 assists. Real Madrid had to battle harder to down Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas 85-82. Louis Bullock led the way for Madrid with 33 points while Felipe Reyes added 20, including critical free throws with 5.6 seconds to go. Kornel David had 25 points for Gran Canaria. Action will resume tomorrow with both semifinals, as DKV Joventut faces Winterthur FC Barcelona at 17:00 while Tau Ceramica goes against Real Madrid at 19:30 CET.

Tau Ceramica joined Unicaja and DKV Joventut in the Spanish King's Cup quarterfinals by beating Caja San Fernando 82-73 in Malaga on Friday. Tau will face Real Madrid in the second semifinal tomorrow at 19:30 CET. Scola paced the winners with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Igor Rakocevic added 15 points, Serkan Erdogan had 12 while Prigioni and Sergi Vidal each scored 10 points for Tau. Prigioni added 9 assists and 3 steals to round a big game. Price had 20 points for Caja San Fernando, Demetrius Alexander added 12 and Carles Marco 11. Three-pointers and strong defense allowed Tau to get a 38-23 lead late in the first half. Caja San Fernando managed to get within 56-50 but Prigioni and Scola allowed Tau to stay ahead for good.

Luis Scola - Tau Ceramica Tau ran its offense through Scola in the early going, as he had 6 quick points while Rakocevic and Vidal stroke from downtown to make Caja San Fernando call timeout at 15-7. Even when Caja San Fernando started to find Alexander in the middle, Rakocevic's third three-pointer allowed Tau to get a 20-11 margin after 10 minutes. Erdogan took over with a four-point play and soon added another bomb from downtown to break the game open. By the time Prigioni joined the three-point festival, Tau led 38-23 after 17 minutes. Patrick Femerling, Filip Videnov and Marco combined for 10 free throws to bring Caja San Fernando back to life, 44-35, at halftime. A three-pointer by Alexander got Caja San Fernando even closer, 56-50, but Tau found a go-to guy in Prigioni, who followed a four-point play with a triple to make Tau keep a safe lead. Erdogan buried another bomb from deep range to make it a 15-point game, 63-48, but Price managed to get Caja San Fernando within 67-56 after three quarters. Caja San Fernando only managed to exchange baskets early in the final period, while Tau used long possessions and an outstanding Scola to keep a safe lead until the final buzzer.

Felipe Reyes - Real MadridReal Madrid had to battle for all 40 minutes to reach the semifinals by edging Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas 85-82 in Malaga on Friday. Bullock led the way for Madrid with 33 points on 13-of-15 free throws. Reyes added 20 points and 9 rebounds while Charles Smith had 13 for the winners. David had 25 points for Gran Canaria, Jimmie Hunter added 13 and Sitapha Savane 11. Madrid led for the best for the best part of the game and even had a double-digit margin, 36-26, late in the first half. David and Hunter fueled the Gran Canaria comeback, while Mario Fernandez gave his team its first lead, 61-62, early in the final period. Bullock stepped up in crunch time, but David brought Gran Canaria within 81-80 with 6.2 seconds to go. Reyes and Bullock each hit 2 free throws to make Madrid seal the win down the stretch.

A hyperactive Reyes and Marko Milic fueled a 9-2 opening run. David got Gran Canaria going with consecutive three-pointers, but Bullock stepped up with a three-point play and Kerem Tunceri fired in one from downtown to help Madrid get a 22-12 lead after 10 minutes. Gran Canaria did not give up, as Sergio Perez and Hunter fueled a 0-7 run to get their team back into the game, 22-19. Smith rescued Madrid with a triple and Bullock soon went on fire. He had 4 quick points for a 31-24 lead and still had time to bury two more triples to keep Madrid ahead, 44-36, at halftime. Gran Canaria improved its offense after the break, as a three-pointer by Jim Moran and a long jumper David got Gran Canaria within 53-50. Madrid found a different go-to guy in Reyes but Gran Canaria kept its momentum going, as Fernandez capped a 0-7 run to tie it at 59-59. Milic dunked it for a 61-59 Madrid edge after 30 minutes, but Fernandez gave Gran Canaria its first lead, 61-62. Bullock came off the bench and stayed unstoppable, leading a 6-0 run which gave Madrid a 75-68 edge with 4 minutes to go. Gran Canaria did not surrender, as Hunter and David got their team within 80-78 with 51.1 seconds remaining. Bullock hit a free throw but a layup by David got his team even closer, 81-80, with 6.2 seconds to go. Gran Canaria opted to foul on Reyes, who made both attempts from the line. Norris did the same with 4.2 seconds to go but Bullock sealed the outcome with more foul shots.



Robert Archibald - DKV Joventut DKV Joventut became the first team to advance to the Spanish King's Cup semifinals by edging Akasvayu Girona 82-84 in overtime in the first game in Malaga on Thursday. Joventut never led in regulation and was down 71-75 with 10.4 seconds to go, but Marcelinho Huertas followed free throws with a driving layup to force overtime, 75-75, in come-from-behind fashion. It all came down to the final seconds, as even when Joventut went scoreless in the final 90 seconds, but Arriel McDonald missed a three-point shot for Akasvayu at the buzzer. Rudy Fernandez and Robert Archibald led the winners each with 17 points while Lubos Barton had 13 for Joventut, but Huertas simply stole the show. Dainius Salenga had 19 points for Akasvayu, Marko Marinovic added 14, McDonald 13 and Gregor Fucka 11.

Akasvayu opened the game with aggressive defense, while a jump hook by Fucka ignited a 10-1 run in which Marinovic and Salenga each had 4 points, good for a 14-5 lead. It didn't last long, as a 7-0 run which Fernandez capped with his first triple brought Joventut within 14-12. Salenga kept pacing Akasvayu while Fucka buried a triple for a 23-17 lead after 10 minutes. Akasvayu started to look for Marc Gasol and German Gabriel, who allowed their team to make it an 11-point game, 31-20. Rubio and Barton brought Joventut back to life to get within 39-37 at halftime. Bootsy Thornton and Marinovic helped Akasvayu to keep a safe lead, 50-45, midway through the third quarter. Archibald made Joventut stay in the game, 58-54, after 30 minutes. Girona stayed ahead for the best part of the final period - until Joventut tried a 1-3-1 zone defense. Fernandez and Archibald got Joventut within 69-68 with 93 seconds to go. McDonald scored in penetration while Salenga hit free throws, but Paco Vazquez buried a triple while Huertas followed foul shots with a huge driving layup to force overtime, 75-75, in thrilling fashion. Huertas made more free throws to give Joventut its first lead of the game, 75-77. Fernandez took over with a wild alleyoop dunk but McDonald and Marinovic kept Girona within 82-84 with 56.1 seconds remaining. The scoreboard did not change, as McDonald missed an eight-meter desperation three-point shot at the buzzer.

Jordi Trias - Winterthur FCBWinterthur FC Barcelona avdanced to the semifinals by topping Unicaja 62-77 in the second quarterfinals game also on Thursday. Jordi Trias led the winners with 18 points, Juan Carlos Navarro added 14 while Gianluca Basile, Michalis Kakiouzis and Jaka Lakovic each had 10 for Barcelona. Carlos Cabezas and Florent Pietrus each had 12 for Unicaja. Basile and Navarro gave Barcelona a 10-21 lead after 10 minutes and their team never trailed from that moment. Unicaja managed to get within 53-59 with 6 minutes to go, but Basile, Lakovic and Navarro stepped up in crunch time to make Barcelona stay in the competition.


It was a balanced game in the early going, as Navarro followed free throws with a three-pointer to give Barcelona a 8-12 lead midway through the first quarter. Unicaja missed too many open shots while Lakovic and Trias and a big triple by Basile boosted Barcelona's lead to 10-21 after 10 minutes. Trias fired in a triple while Ukic scored twice in penetration for a 16-30 margin. Marko Tusek brought Unicaja back to life with consecutive three-pointers and Pietrus scored twice around the basket, but only brought their team within 28-39 after 18 minutes. Free throws by Trias helped Barcelona to reach halftime with a 30-42 lead. Barcelona went scoreless in the opening 4 minutes of the third quarter while Cabezas followed one from downtown with a short jumper for a 35-42 Unicaja deficit. Lakovic and Navarro rescued Barcelona with back-to-back triples, as Unicaja kept trying to run to the basket. Ukic shined with a three-point play to give his team a 42-55 margin after 30 minutes. Unicaja opened the fourth quarter with a 7-2 run that Pietrus capped with a layup-plus-foul for a 50-57 deficit with 6 minutes to go. Basile and Lakovic rescued Barcelona while Navarro sank an acrobatic jumper to give his team a 56-64 lead. Unicaja never recovered and Barcelona cruised to a well-deserved win.



Thursday, February 08, 2007
Javier Gancedo, Malaga

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