Seven players are enough to destroy the Herbalife - The Province

The argument of excuses begins to run out in the Herbalife Gran Canaria. Those used at the beginning of the year in terms of mileage, match load and mental fatigue are no longer useful, at least for yesterday's game. The Claretian group does not take a plane since December 23 when he had to play in Zaragoza, spent about 72 hours of rest from the last European match against Real Madrid and precisely against the merengue team was promulgated 'the positive of the defeat'.

Well, at Baskonia, who had just fallen in the last two continental matches against Fenerbahce and Olympiacos, who had to return from Athens on Tuesday and who appeared in the match against Gran Canaria with the casualties of Shengelia and Granger, two of his men Determinants, did not weigh so many inconveniences to destroy the Herbalife with only seven men in its rotation -Penava barely played four minutes.

Yes, the budget of the Baskonia is much higher, almost twice the salary bill than the Granca, but what the yellow squad can not afford is the indifference they have shown in numerous games during the season. Yesterday, once again, when he had control of the game until the third quarter, after winning 12 points in the first quarter, he threw the towel in the last part of the match and fitted 28 points displaying a missing image. self-esteem that a team can not afford Euroleague.

Initial illusion

He jumped into the Buesa Arena the Herbalife with the necessary energy to catch the baskonista goat by the horns from the first moment. Fast transitions, fleeting passes between yellow jerseys and free throws from all corners of the court helped open the game with 6-14 for Herbalife.

The inner game moved like a fish in the water and transformed all the insular points (Six of Balvin, five of Báez and an open triple of Tillie).

He decided to stop the match Perasovic, ostensibly angry with his team, and ordered his players to try to cut the difference by the fast track of the triple. Then, Marcelinho was dedicated to find Matt Janning. The American guard ran the cart down the bottom line to find free throws after block. The first, inside; the second, well defended by Eriksson, caused him to consume possession.

The Herbalife, faced with the threat of the triple baskonista, answered with the same coin with the second triple of Tillie, which together with a basket of Pasecniks after dancing under the hoop to Diop in the purest Olajuwon style, he put the maximum on the scoreboard in the first quarter, +12 (9-21).

The Basque alarm went on and the accelerator pressed a little bit with seven consecutive points, added to the last basket on the horn. DJ Strawberry the end of the first period was reached 16-23.

Perasovic drew his Balkan character during the interweaves and revolutionized the quintet. He joined Vildoza and Huertas on the track to put another march to baskonista rhythm and the Brazilian base went into a trance. The Marcelinho doll was heated in such a way that in the 15th minute he accumulated 11 points thanks to the Claretian gifts, which he took advantage of to score four points in counterattack. A man of 35 years stealing balls right and left on the floor of Buesa Arena.

The baskonista run commanded by the Brazilian brought the difference until the 27-30 with which Garcia had to ask for time out to ask his players head and not make more unforced errors, as they accumulated six losses in the equator of the second period.

The Vitorian pavilion and its inseparable txaranga He came up and took the team to the boat to keep an eye on the island. Changed the reading of the game and if in the first measures the triple was abused, in this section of the second quarter began to sting stone on the paintings.

Balvin, Poirier and Báez began to take center stage. The Czech, added 12 points; while the French center of the Baskonia reached eight, six of them consecutive after Garcia's timeout.

Poirier, after the injury of Toko Shengelia is taking the reins of the whole of Perasovic, because until Querejeta scratches his pocket he knows that he has to concentrate the game on the paint of his team.

It was produced, then, a partial 0-6 with two triplazos of Eriksson, which caused the dead time of Perasovic; and then, the Baskonia transformed a 4-0 after two losses of Magette, which they identified as the easy prey of the Herbalife and did not cease to press the rise of the ball.

Beginning of the end

With the exchange of partials came to rest 39-42, after Tillie failed an easy tap on the last possession missed by Oliver. The French power forward himself commented in the interview flash of the intermediate that the key to continue beating the Baskonia was to maintain the defensive level shown in the first two quarters.

And yes, in the third quarter Herbalife maintained the defensive rigor. He left his rival in 16 points, but attracted a black cloud that landed on the Baskonista ring and only scored 24 points until the final whistle.

The meeting resumed in a somewhat injured way. Both in the losses of both sets, which continued to be bleeding for the spectator; as for the Baskonian nursing, which is already in itself overbooking by the presence of Shengelia, Granger and Sedekerskis, it seemed to add more players to the doctor's visit. Hilliard took a blow that left him limping and Poirier, in a fight for a rebound took a pain relieving in his right thigh that at times made him change the rhythm of his footprint. Only scares ...

The French, being the target of the assists of Vildoza and Huertas, continued to be the first option in attack for the Basques and led the comeback of his team in the minute 23.

He managed to turn the marker around for the first time after the initial 4-3 through two free throws by Diop and consummate 45-44 from which the Granca was no longer going to recover.

At that time, the insular black cloud caused eleven consecutive field launches to fail.

The shutter was lowered in the third quarter to Herbalife, who only scored nine points in ten minutes, for sixteen of the Baskonia.

He put the turbo the local team after the return to the track. One basket, another, another, another ... and while, the Herbalife, without reacting. It entered in the last section with four points down and in three and a half minutes it had fit a partial 11-2 that supposed the insular sentence.

The remaining minutes, already converted into those in the garbage, which the Herbalife tragically is getting used to having to play in this season, they served for the Buesa Arena grandstand to have fun with the actions for the gallery of its players.

It hurts to see this Gran Canaria, which has given so many joys in recent times, to be dragged at times on the most prestigious tracks of the continent.

Yesterday, without going any further, in the same one where two years ago I was raising a trophy ...