 Unicaja had a very convincing start at the Euroleague Basketball Nike International Junior Tournament by beating Montepaschi Siena 83-71 in Group B on Thursday, in a showdown between runner-ups in respective qualifying tournaments in L'Hospitalet and Rome. Jose Pozas led the winners with 17 points on 4-for-7 three-pointers off the bench. Augusto Lima posted a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds while Malick Fall posted another double-double - 15 points, 15 rebounds - for Unicaja. Antonio Iannuzzi and Nunzio Sabbatino each had 15 points for Montepaschi. Iannuzzi added 11 rebounds for a double-double. Giorgio Sgobba and Nika Metreveli each added 10 points for the Italian powerhouse. The game followed the same script as the previous ones today. Unicaja has a safe lead for the best part of the game and led 44-32 at halftime with Pozas and Fall leading their team with 11 points each. Sgobba stepped up for Montepaschi after the break, as he hit back-to-back triples to make it a one-point game, 52-51. Montepaschi failed to complete its comeback and Unicaja extended its lead to 57-53 after 30 minutes. Another three-pointer by Sgobba allowed Montepaschi to finally get the lead, 61-62. Unicaja found a go-to guy in Lima while a three-pointer by Pozas restored a 74-67 edge with 3 minutes to go. Montepaschi did not recover, allowing Unicaja to get closer to the title game.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Vladimir Stankovic, Berlin |
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