Javier Beirán jumps the ball against Prince Ali, in an action of the match between Estudiantes and Palencia, this Saturday in Fontajau (Girona)
Students and Girona will play last place for promotion to ACB. The game had to be a confrontation between the collective of the symbolic Estudiantes and the individual power of the most important surname in the history of Spanish basketball, but Marc Gasol injured his knee in the semifinals and his presence, without official confirmation, is doubtful. The center left the stretch in the third quarter unable to support his leg, supported by doctors, though he returned on his own foot with an ice pack on his knee. The decisive game will take place this Sunday at 6.45 p.m. in Fontajau (Girona).
The two finalists came through their respective semifinals with similar scripts. If Estudiantes beat a weak Palencia (89-62), Girona did the same against Lleida (77-68), who took advantage of the star’s injury to play to the end.
The loss of Gasol clouded the performances of a Girona side who practically decided the game at half-time (31-53). After the departure of the center of the game, Girona collapsed, although they managed to maintain the advantage and victory. Students who reached the Final Four as a prime contender for promotion now appear to have a greater advantage due to the emotional and technical wound that the loss of Gasol could leave on their team. If he finally has minutes in the decisive game, he is allowed to play briefly.
Rising to the highest category of Spanish basketball would be the starting point for two parallel projects that the ACB aspires to, with different origins. If Estudiantes wants to be a small speck on their almost untouched history this season (until 2021 they were the only team that had played all ACB leagues alongside Madrid and Joventut), Girona wants to consecrate since its re-creation in 2014. But with Marc Gasol everything is easier. The team was in decline prior to the arrival of the Catalan, founder and president of the company, and his registration catapulted the team’s performance into the regular league with his 23.5 PIR points.
The Catalan center almost dominated Lleida by intimidation than by goals (11 points in 16 minutes). The level of the former NBA player is significantly higher than the category even in a key game like the semifinals. At 35, he commands, scolds, encourages and dominates the game like few others. After returning from the dressing room, he continued to cheer from his chair, occasionally getting up to give instructions under the gaze of his brother Pau, who was seated in the box.
The Gasol-Urtasun-Franch trio was unstoppable at the start for Lleida, who woke up in Fontajau (Girona) when the game was already many minutes into the game. In the blink of an eye Girona already had half a game in their pockets (4-22 with two minutes to go in the second quarter, equalizing to 11-26 in the 10th minute). Little was known about Lleida star Carrera until the second half: he was penalized for three fouls before the 15th minute and went into the break without a point. Only a run of three straight threes from Lleida in the second quarter seemed to level the game, but Girona responded with four straight threes, two from Gasol, and dominated at half-time (31-53).
Marc Gasol tries to block before leaving the game injured.
Losing the center changed the pace of the game. Lleida upped the intensity and Girona had doubts without their leader (17-8 for Lleida in the third quarter), despite resisting final pressure from Fjellerup (11 points).
The other semi-final was won by the strength of experience of Estudiantes, who faced the illusion of Palencia for the first time. The collegiate team faced promotion to the Final Four with great success. Strong in defense and voracious in offensive rebounding in the semis against Palencia (89-62), Epi’s team dominated from start to finish, with center Larssen unbeatable in the box (seven rebounds at halftime); and Dee and Álex Urtasun (14 points each) set up the shot.
The Palentino team, the only team with Granada able to win the two games against the students in the regular league, lost their recipe at the worst possible time. His main ingredient, the electric Ali, was disconnected from Madrid’s defenses and his teammates contributed little (43% accuracy on field goals across the team, made up for in the end).
It’s not that Estudiantes was particularly good in attack either. He sometimes abused triples (9/24 overall), but his errors had a solution: the offensive rebound. Epi’s men sought the ball with each attack as if it were their last. And Palencia didn’t resist in that regard (25 rebounds came from the Madrid half in attack for Palencia’s 9 at halftime). At rest, the domain was collegiate (36-24).
The break felt better for Estudiantes, who broke through the semifinals with a spectacular third quarter (33-19) that gave the students a 26-point lead (69-43). The game ended there. Epi rotated his quintet (only Durisic stayed on the pitch for more than 25 minutes) for the final against Gasols Girona, perhaps without Marc.
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