November 21, 2008
Spanish League Quarterfinals, Game 2: May 19-20, 2007
Igor Rakocevic - Tau Ceramica Tau Ceramica and DKV Joventut are just one win away from making it to the Spanish League semifinals, as both teams have a 2-0 lead in their respective best-of-five quarterfinal series against Unicaja and Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas. Meanwhile, Akasvayu Girona and Pamesa Valencia managed to tie their series at 1-1. Tau thrashed injury-plagued Unicaja 66-82 in Malaga on Sunday. Once again, Igor Rakocevic led the winners with 30 points on 7-of-10 three-pointers. Meanwhile, Joventut overcame a 18-point deficit to to beat Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas 71-80 on the road in Game 2 on Sunday behind 16 points from Marcelinho Huertas. Akasvayu Girona bounced back from its initial quarterfinal loss by downing Winterthur FC Barcelona 85-70 in Game 2 at home. Arriel McDonald led the way for Girona with 18 points, while Michalis Kakiouzis also had 18 for Barcelona. Pamesa Valencia also tied its quarterfinals series by beating Real Madrid 70-67 in Game 2 in Valencia on Saturday. Victor Claver paced the winners with 18 points but Vule Avdalovic hit the go-ahead triple with 17.5 seconds to go. Louis Bullock and Charles Smith each had 16 points for Madrid. Game 3 will be here on Thursday and Friday.

Tau Ceramica took a 2-0 lead in its quarterfinal series by thrashing Unicaja 66-82 in Malaga on Sunday. Tau is just one win away from returning to the Spanish League semifinals. Once again, Rakocevic led the winners with 30 points on 7-of-10 three-pointers. Luis Scola added 13 for Tau. Marcus Brown and Boniface N'Dong each had 14 points for Unicaja while Marcus Faison added 12 for the hosts. Tau only allowed 7 points in the opening quarter, while Rakocevic and Scola led the team to a 7-24 lead after 10 minutes. Rakocevic already had 18 points at halftime, as Tau led 26-45 at the break. N'Dong tried to ignit the Unicaja rally, but Lou Roe, Scola and back-to-back triples by Rakocevic broke the game open, 49-69. Unicaja never recovered and Tau cruised to a well-deserved win. Akasvayu Girona bounced back from its initial quarterfinal loss by downing Winterthur FC Barcelona 85-70 in Game 2 at home. Series is tied at 1-1 but Barcelona hosts Game 3 on Friday. McDonald led the way for Girona with 18 points. Fernando San Emeterio posted a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds while Dainius Salenga had 14 points off the Girona bench. Michalis Kakiouzis had 18 points for Barcelona, Jaka Lakovic 14 and Juan Carlos Navarro 10. A midcourt triple by Salenga allowed Akasvayu to get a 43-34 halftime edge and Barcelona never recovered. A 16-4 opening run in the final period helped Girona to break the game for good and tie the series.

DKV Joventut rallied from a 18-point deficit to beat Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas 71-80 on the road in Game 2 on Sunday. Joventut leads the series 2-0 and hosts Game 3 on Friday. Huertas paced the winners with 16 points, Ricky Rubio and Andy Betts each added 12 while Rudy Fernandez had 10 for Joventut. Snap Hunter had 21 points for Gran Canaria while Marcus Norris added 15. Hunter had 11 points in a 27-9 opening run for Gran Canaria that Roberto Guerra capped with a triple. Betts and an outstanding Rubio led the Joventut comeback, that tied the game at 38-38 late in the first half. Gran Canaria did not give up and Norris hit a three-pointer to give his team a 62-55 lead after 30 minutes. An unstoppable Charles Gaines and three-pointers by Rubio, Fernandez and Huertas kept Joventut in the game. A 1-11 run that Huertas capped with an acrobatic jumper helped Joventut to seal the outcome in the final 3 minutes. Pamesa Valencia also tied its quarterfinals series by beating Real Madrid 70-67 in Game 2 in Valencia on Saturday. Claver paced the winners with 18 points but Avdalovic hit the go-ahead triple with 17.5 seconds to go. Bullock and Smith each had 16 points for Madrid while Axel Hervelle added 12. Madrid led 56-63 with more than 4 minutes to go, but a 9-2 run that Justin Hamilton capped with free throws gave Pamesa a 66-65 lead. Bullock scored in penetration but Avdalovic answered from downtown, 69-67. Raul Lopez missed a three-point shot and Ruben Douglas fixed the final score from the free throw line.

SPANISH LEAGUE: Quarterfinal Playoffs, best of 5 games
RecordTeam
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Game 4
Game 5
2
Tau Ceramica (1)
92
82
May 25
May 27*
May 29*
0
Unicaja (8)
65
66
-
-
-
1
Winterthur FCB (4)
80
70
May 25
May 27
May 29*
1
Akasvayu Girona (5)
69
85
-
-
-
1
Real Madrid (2)
84
70
May 24
May 26
May 29*
1
Pamesa Valencia (7)
81
67
-
-
-
2
DKV Joventut (3)
75
80
May 25
May 27*
May 29*
0
Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas (6)
73
71
-
-
-

Quarterfinal Playoffs Games
Game 1
Tau Ceramica vs. Unicaja
92-65
May 18
Game 1
Real Madrid vs. Pamesa Valencia
84-81
May 17
Game 1
DKV Joventut vs. Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas
75-73
May 18
Game 1
Winterthur FCB vs. Akasvayu Girona
80-69
May 18
Game 2
Unicaja vs. Tau Ceramica
66-82
May 20
Game 2
Pamesa Valencia vs. Real Madrid
70-67
May 19
Game 2
Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas vs. DKV Joventut
71-80
May 20
Game 2
Akasvayu Girona vs. Winterthur FCB
85-70
May 20
Game 3
Tau Ceramica vs. Unicaja
-
May 25
Game 3
Real Madrid vs. Pamesa Valencia
-
May 24
Game 3
DKV Joventut vs. Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas
-
May 25
Game 3
Winterthur FCB vs. Akasvayu Girona
-
May 25
Game 4
Unicaja vs. Tau Ceramica
-
May 27*
Game 4
Pamesa Valencia vs. Real Madrid
-
May 26
Game 4
Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas vs. DKV Joventut
-
May 27*
Game 4
Akasvayu Girona vs. Winterthur FCB
-
May 27
Game 5
Tau Ceramica vs. Unicaja
-
May 29*
Game 5
Real Madrid vs. Pamesa Valencia
-
May 29*
Game 5
DKV Joventut vs. Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas
-
May 29*
Game 5
Winterthur FCB vs. Akasvayu Girona
-
May 29*

Sunday, May 20, 2007
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