Nike IJCT L'Hospitalet: Unicaja 76-78 DKV Joventut
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DKV Joventut finished second in Group C at the Euroleague Basketball Nike International Junior Classification Tournament L’Hospitalet by edging Unicaja 76-78 in the final game on Friday. Both teams had run out of chances to advance to the semifinals and will now try to fight for the fith spot at this prestigious tournament. David Jelinek led the winners with 19 points, Josep Franch added 12, Dmitry Kryukov had 11 while Armand Sole got 10 for Joventut. Ernesto Diaz had 17 points for Unicaja, David Guardia and Augusto Lima each added 13 while Salvador Mandez got 10. Jelinec took over in the early going with back-to-back triples in a 2-11 opening run for Joventut and he kept pacing his team to make it a 12-point game, 9-21, midway through the first quarter. Both teams had opted for an up-tempo offense, but Franch and Kryukov allowed Joventut to stay ahead, 17-26, at the end of the first quarter. Once again Kryukov followed a big basket with a three-point play to make it a 15-point game, 23-38. Mendez and three-pointers by Oscar Calderon and Miguel Lorenzo got Unicaja within 35-44 at halftime. Mendez and Lorenzo stepped up after the break to bring Unicaja back in the game, 48-51. Sole followed a triple with a layup in transition while Solans helped Joventut to get a 56-61 margin after 30 minutes. Unicaja improved its defense, while Diaz and Lorenzo brought their team even closer, 62-63, with less than 7 minutes to go. Lorenzo scored inside and Diaz hit a jumper to complete Unicaja's comeback, 66-64. Jelinec and Llovet helped Joventut to regain the lead, 68-72. It all came down to the wire, as Kryakov and Lima traded free throws for a 75-74 Unicaja edge with 27.6 seconds remaining. Franch scored in penetration to make Joventut regain the lead, 75-76, with 13.1 seconds to go. Diaz missed a critical shot while Jelinec made just 1-for-2 free throws for a 76-78 edge with 1.3 seconds to go, enough to win the game.
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Javier Gancedo, L'Hospitalet
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