Spanish League, Game 26: March 22-23, 2008
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Real Madrid got closer to clinch first place in the Spanish League regular season and improved to 22-4 by thrashing Polaris World CB Murcia 75-55 at home on Sunday. Felipe Reyes paced the winners with 15 points while Alex Mumbru and Charles Smith each had 11 for Madrid. Akasvayu Girona improved to 15-11 by beating DKV Joventut 87-80 in an all-ULEB Cup showdown at home on Saturday behind 20 points from Arriel McDonald. Unicaja rallied from a 16-point deficit to edge Grupo Capitol Valladolid 89-94 on the road also on Sunday. Davor Kus led the winners with 24 points on 11-for-12 free throws and 6 assists while Boniface Ndong added 22 points on 11-for-14 two-pointers. Kalise Gran Canaria improved to 13-13 by downing Alta Gestion Fuenlabrada 80-90 on the road on Sunday. Meanwhile, Barcelona went down to 18-8 due to a 76-86 home loss against Cajasol, that broke its 16-game losing streak at Palau Blaugrana. Pamesa Valencia dropped to 15-11 due to a 78-68 road loss against CB Granada while Tau Ceramica moved down to 18-8 because of a 88-93 road loss against end-of-the-table Grupo Begar Leon. In other games, MMT Estudiantes topped Ricoh Manresa 88-76 while ViveMenorca edged iurbentia Bilbao Basket 72-71 on game-winning free throws by Paul Shirley.
Real Madrid now had a three-game gap ahead everyone else by thrashing Polaris World CB Murcia 75-55 at home on Sunday. Reyes paced the winners with 15 points while Mumbru and Smith each had 11 for Madrid, that trailed 11-19 early in the second quarter. Reyes, Louis Bullock and Alex Mumbru stepped up to put Madrid ahead, 37-31, at halftime. Madrid only allowed four points in the third quarter. Meanwhile, a 13-0 run that Blagota Sekulic capped with consecutive baskets allowed Madrid to seal the outcome long before the final buzzer. Unicaja moved up to 15-11 by edging Grupo Capitol Valladolid 89-94 on the road also on Sunday. Kus led the winners with 24 points on 11-for-12 free throws and 6 assists. Ndong added 22 points on 11-for-14 two-pointers, Marcus Haislip had 16 on 4-for-5 three-pointers while Jiri Welsch got 13 for Unicaja, that trailed 65-49 late in the third quarter. Haislip, Ndong and Kus allowed Unicaja to rally and get a 72-74 edge. Valladolid had its last lead at 83-80 but triples by Kus, Haislip and Welsch sealed the outcome down the stretch. Akasvayu Girona improved to 13-13 by beating DKV Joventut 87-80 at home on Saturday. McDonald led the winners with 20 points. Erik Daniels added 19, Marc Gasol had 18, 10 rebounds and 6 blocks, Fernando San Emeterio got 12 while Branko Cvetkovic contributed 11 for Akasvayu. Rudy Fernandez had 18 points for Joventut, Demond Mallet added 15 and Jan Jagla 12. A fast break dunk by Gasol gave Akasvayu a 43-40 halftime edge. Daniels and McDonald fueled a 15-0 run that broke the game open, 60-42, after the break. Joventut managed to get within 85-80 already in the final minute but Akavasyu was already celebrating a big win.
Kalise Gran Canaria improved to 13-13 by downing Alta Gestion Fuenlabrada 80-90 on the road on Sunday. Marcus Norris paced the winners with 15 points. Mario Fernandez and Kornel David each added 11 while Carl English and Sitapha Savane had 10 apiece for Gran Canaria, that led all the way since 17-16. Fuenlabrada rallied from a 13-point deficit to get within 79-83 with less than 2 minutes to go, but English and Fernandez sealed the outcome. Barcelona went down to 18-8 due to a 76-86 home loss against Cajasol. Former Barcelona player Michalis Kakiouzis led the winners with 22 points while Michael Ignerski added 21 for Cajasol. Roger Grimau had 18 points for Barcelona, Denis Marconato added 14 and Fran Vazquez 11. Barcelona led 51-42 midway through the third quarter but Kakiouzis singlehandedly brought Cajasol back in the game, 55-56, after 30 minutes. Ignerski had 14 points in the fourth quarter to seal the upset, as Cajasol got its first win in Barcelona since 1995 and broke a 16-game losing streak at Palau Blaugrana. Pamesa Valencia dropped to 15-11 due to a 78-68 road loss against CB Granada. Vlado Scepanovic led the winners with 19 points. Ruben Douglas had 17 points for Pamesa, Dejan Milojevic added 13 while Shammond Williams had 11 for the guests, that did not lead in the second half. A three-pointer by Victor Claver got Pamesa within 62-58 but a 10-2 run made Granada seal the outcome. Tau Ceramica moved down to 18-8 because of a 88-93 road loss against end-of-the-table Grupo Begar Leon. Txemi Urtasun led the winners with 23 points. Mirza Teletovic had 25 points for Tau, Tiago Splitter added 16, Zoran Planinic had 13 while Sergi Vidal and Pete Mickeal each got 10 for the hosts. It all came down to the final minute, as Tau rallied from a double-digit deficit to get within 88-91. Urtasun sealed the outcome from the foul line.
LAST GAME GAME 26
March 22-23, 2008 | | Day | Match | Result | | Mar. 23 | Estudiantes vs. Manresa | 88-76 | | Mar. 23 | AXA FCBarcelona vs.Cajasol | 76-86 | | Mar. 22 | Akasvayu vs. DKV Joventut | 87-80 | | Mar. 23 | ViveMenorca vs. Bilbao | 72-71 | | Mar. 23 | Real Madrid vs. CB Murcia | 75-55 | | Mar. 23 | Valladolid vs. Unicaja | 89-94 | | Mar. 23 | TAU Cerámica vs. León | 88-93 | | Mar. 23 | C.B. Granada vs. Pamesa | 78-68 | | Mar. 23 | Fuenlabrada vs. Kalise GC | 80-90 |
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NEXT GAME GAME 27
March 26-27, 2008 | | Day | Match | | Mar. 19 | Cajasol vs. ViveMenorca | | Mar. 26 | Bilbao vs. Real Madrid | | Mar. 26 | Joventut vs. Estudiantes | | Mar. 26 | Pamesa vs. Fuenlabrada | | Mar. 26 | Akasvayu Girona vs. Ricoh | | Mar. 26 | AXA FCB vs. Granada | | Mar. 27 | Kalise GC vs. Valladolid | | Mar. 27 | CB Murcia vs. Begar León | | Mar. 27 | Unicaja vs. TAU Cerámica |
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| STANDINGS | TG | W | L | P+ | P- | | 1 | Real Madrid | 26 | 22 | 4 | 2163 | 1943 | | 2 | DKV Joventut | 26 | 19 | 7 | 2267 | 2005 | | 3 | TAU Cerámica | 26 | 18 | 8 | 2207 | 1983 | | 4 | AXA F.C. Barcelona | 26 | 18 | 8 | 1989 | 1925 | | 5 | Pamesa Valencia | 26 | 15 | 11 | 2008 | 1908 | | 6 | Unicaja | 26 | 15 | 11 | 2089 | 2010 | | 7 | iurbentia Bilbao Basket | 26 | 15 | 11 | 1933 | 1883 | | 8 | Akasvayu Girona | 26 | 15 | 11 | 2052 | 2056 | | 9 | Kalise Gran Canaria | 26 | 13 | 13 | 2020 | 1978 | | 10 | C.B. Granada | 26 | 11 | 15 | 2001 | 2031 | | 11 | Cajasol | 26 | 10 | 16 | 2030 | 2086 | | 12 | Polaris World CB Murcia | 26 | 10 | 16 | 1883 | 1964 | | 13 | Grupo Capitol Valladolid | 26 | 10 | 16 | 2063 | 2182 | | 14 | ViveMenorca | 26 | 10 | 16 | 1945 | 2077 | | 15 | Ricoh Manresa | 26 | 9 | 17 | 2040 | 2168 | | 16 | Alta Gestión Fuenlabrada | 26 | 9 | 17 | 1927 | 2062 | | 17 | MMT Estudiantes | 26 | 8 | 18 | 1891 | 2049 | | 18 | Grupo Begar León | 26 | 7 | 19 | 1968 | 2166 |
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