Spanish League Playoffs, Quarterfinals, Game 2: May 17-18, 2008 - SPAIN

November 22, 2009

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Spanish League Playoffs, Quarterfinals, Game 2: May 17-18, 2008

The Spanish League will have a new king after Unicaja made history by upsetting the previous champions from Real Madrid with a two-game sweep in their best-of-three quarterfinal playoff series. Never before in Spanish League history had an eighth-seeded team beaten the regular season champion in a first-round playoff. AXA F.C. Barcelona also won its quarterfinal series with Bilbao in two games, while two other series, Tau Ceramica-Pamesa Valencia and DKV Joventut-Akasvayu Girona, are tied 1-1 and awaiting third-game tiebreakers. In a scintillating Game 2 of their series, Unicaja used 22 points each by home-grown talents Carlos Cabezas and Berni Rodriguez to outlast Madrid 88-86 at home in Malaga. Rodriguez was untouched driving fullcourt to the basket for the game-winning layup with 2.6 seconds left. Barcelona put the other 2-0 quarterfinals sweep in the books when it won 83-92 in Bilbao as Alex Acker exploded for 31 points. In a replay of the recent ULEB Cup title game, runner-up Akasvayu Girona tied its series against champion DKV Joventut with a 91-83 home win in Game 2 of their quarterfinal. Marc Gasol ruled for Akasvayu with 25 points and 10 rebounds. The remaining quarterfinal was tied 1-1, too, after Pamesa Valencia outgunned Tau Ceramica 100-95 in their second game as guards Shammond Williams and Ruben Douglas scored 29 and 25 points, respectively. Unicaja will play the Tau-Pamesa series winner in one semifinal, while Barcelona will go against the Joventut-Girona winner.

The heavyweight battle in Malaga featured a strong first quarter by the hosts from Unicaja, for whom Cabezas and Jiri Welsch provided the first decent lead, 11-6. Boniface Ndong kept Unicaja ahead with consecutive baskets before 5 points in a row by Rodriguez made it 20-12 at the end of one quarter. Madrid turned things around quickly as Lazaros Papadopoulos and Kerem Tunceri fueled a 2-10 run to start the second quarter. Cabezas and Ndong kept Unicaja in front 33-27 before Felipe Reyes and Louis Bullock completed Madrid's comeback at 36-36, the score at halftime. Welsch an d Bullock's three-pointers ignited a fierce third quarter in which Madrid tied the score eight different times, often on heroics by Bullock, but never took the lead, as Ndong, Carlos Jimenez and Bojan Popovic left Unicaja in front by 60-55 after 30 minutes. Madrid brlike thorugh, however, with the fourth quarter's first 7 points, including a triple by Charles Smith and a go-ahead basket by Axel Hervelle. Several ties and lead changes later, Madrid was up 72-73 when Cabezas drilled a triple and followed with two-point basket to make it 77-73 for Unicaja. Madrid would reclaim a 79-80 lead going into the final minute, but free throws by Ndong and Cabezas gave it back to Unicaja. Madrid tied it when Alex Mumbru made foul shots with 8 seconds left, but a last possession ended with Rodriguez driving full-court for the game-winning basket, which was awarded after goaltending by Mumbru. In addition to Cabezas and Rodriguez combining on half of their team's points, Ndong had 18 and 8 rebounds while Welsch scored 11. For Madrid, Bullock poured in 28 to go with 13 from Raul Lopez, 12 from Smith and 10 from Reyes.

Barcelona made sure it would get a few days extra rest before the semifinals by finishing off Bilbao on the road in Game 2. Acker and Gianluca Basile set the tone by vaulting the visitors in front 0-8 to start the game. Acker made it a double-digit lead at 2-12 before Bilbao responded with a 10-1 run that Jaka Lakovic halted with a triple for Barcelona, which held onto a 16-18 lead after 10 minutes. Bilbao took its for lead on Predrag Savovic's basket at 23-22, but Acker soon dunked to take it back for Barcelona. Acker and Ersan Ilyasova's triples brought the guests to halftime ahead 34-40. Bilbao tried to come back after the break, coming within 43-44 on a shot from downtown by Luke Recker, but Ilyasova kept Barcelona in front and 8 points in a row by Roger Grimau made it 46-58. Barcelona led 50-61 after three quarters and saw the lead dwindle to 5 points, 64-69, before Acker and Lakovic blasted triples to end the suspense - and the series. To Acker's 31 points, includign 5 triples, Ilyasova added 14, Lakovic 11 and Grimau 10. Recker had 18 for Bilbao, whose great season surprised more than a few people.

At home in Girona, Akasvayu came out strong to lead Joventut 11-4 as Erik Daniels and Branko Cvetkovic shared 9 of those points. Demond Mallett soon fired Joventut in front 11-12, but Akasvayu went to Gasol for 6 straight points on the way to a 21-17 finish to the first quarter. Ivan Radenovic and Gasol helped restore the hosts' high lead thus far at 27-20, but soon Ricky Rubio was tying it with a triple and putting Joventut ahead 29-31 on the next basket. Jan Jagla joined the attack with 5 points as Joventut stayed ahead 40-41 at halftime. A third-quarter triple from Rudy Fernandez supplied the visitors with their highest lead, 42-49, but Victor Sada sparked an Akasvayu comeback that was complete with 3 free throws by Cvetkovic at 56-56. Arriel McDonald and Fernando San Emeterio lifted the hosts to a 66-61 advantage after 30 minutes. Sada's next triple answered one by Fernandez, but soon a shot from downtown by San Emeterio put Akasvayu in control at 76-67. Joventut got as close as 81-79 on a three-pointer by Mallet, but Daniels answered with 5 points in a row that settled the matter in Akasvayu's favor, forcing a do-or-die third game.

In Valencia, meanwhile, Igor Rakocevic, Pete Mickeal and Tiago Splitter gave Tau early leads that climbed as high as 14-22 before Pamesa responded. But the points kept falling until Mickeal's dunk ended the first quarter 22-28. The pace slowed only slightly in the second quarter, when Tau's advantage ballooned to 27-42 as Simas Jasaitis assisted back-to-back triples by Pablo Prigioni and Sergi Vidal, who added a three-point play the traditional way, with a basket-plus-free throw. Fred House steadied Pamesa then, and was joined by Douglas and Albert Oliver in a 14-0 run that made it 41-42. Tau fought back, however, to restore a 43-51 lead at the half. Tau enjoyed the same advantage, 50-58, before Williams and Douglas caught fire for Pamesa midway through the third quarter. After Albert Miralles tied twice for the hosts, triples by Williams, Dejan Milojevic and Mindaugas Timinskis catapaulted Pames to a seven-point lead that Prigioni and Jasaitis trimmed to 75-73 after 30 minutes. Defenses ruled for the next few minutes, before a triple by Williams and a three-point play by Ruben Garces put Pamesa up 83-76. The lead approached double digits on later free throws by Williams, but triples by Prigioni, Vidal and Jasaitis got Tau within 98-95 with 8 seconds left, when Timinskas sealed the victory at the foul line. To the 54 points between Williams and Douglas, Garces added 12. Tau got 23 points, 13 rebounds from Splitter, while Prigioni scored 18, Vidal 17 and Mickeal 16.

Quarterfinal Playoffs, best of 3 games

Record	Team	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
0	Real Madrid (1)	73	86	x
2	Unicaja (8)	89	88	x
1	Tau Ceramica(4)	87	95	May 20
1	Pamesa Valencia (5)	79	100	-
1	DKV Joventut (2)	85	83	May 20
1	Akasvayu Girona (7)	72	91	-
2	AXA FC Barcelona (3)	75	83	x
0	iurbentia Bilbao (6)	64	92	x

Quarterfinal games
Game 1	Real Madrid vs. Unicaja	73-89	May 15
Game 1	DKV Joventut vs. Akasvayu Girona	85-72	May 16
Game 1	AXA FC Barcelona vs. iurbentia Bilbao	75-64	May 16
Game 1	Tau Ceramica vs. Pamesa Valencia	87-79	May 16
Game 2	Unicaja vs. Real Madrid	88-86	May 17
Game 2	Akasvayu Girona vs. DKV Joventut	91-83	May 18
Game 2	iurbentia Bilbao vs. AXA FC Barcelona	83-92	May 18
Game 2	Pamesa Valencia vs. Tau Ceramica	100-95	May 18
Game 3	DKV Joventut vs. Akasvayu Girona	-	May 20
Game 3	Tau Ceramica vs. Pamesa Valencia	-	May 20