Coach Diego Ocampo's team overcame adversities and foul trouble to grab its fifth win
Manresa's next-man-up mentality pays off against Cedevita
Spielbericht
3 Lesezeit
Regular Season
Round 10 of 18
Regular Season
group a
BAXI ManresaMAN
9982
Cedevita Olimpija LjubljanaCOL
group a
Overview
w
w
l
l
l
l
w
w
w
w
BAXI Manresa played arguably its best game so far in this BKT EuroCup season, downing Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana 99-82 at Nou Congost to get its fifth win in 10 games.
Cedevita arrived at Nou Congost on a four-game winning streak and Manresa still has to find a replacement for Alfonso Plummer, who parted ways with the team. Plummer had buried 20-of-39 three-pointers (51.3% 3FG) so far this season, with the rest of the team combining for 56 of 204 until now (27.5% 3FG), so it would have made sense for his absence to be felt.
It gets better. Pierre Oriola and Hugo Benitez had combined for a PIR of 53 in Round 9's home victory over Veolia Towers Hamburg. Both Oriola and Benitez picked up two quick fouls and were already on the bench in less than 6 minutes of action. Neither player regained their rhythm against Cedevita, combining for 7 points and a PIR of 8. Benitez was limited to just 11 minutes due to a hamstring injury, which gave 17-year-old prospect Gerard Fernandez the chance to make his EuroCup debut.
Good teams turn adversity into an opportunity, and this is exactly what Manresa did as several players stepped up to make Manresa keep a safe lead most of the way.
Gustav Knudsen surprised Cedevita with a great performance. Before this game, Knudsen averaged 1.0 points on 0-of-6 three-pointers in seven games, good for a PIR of 0. Knudsen came off the bench and soon knocked down a couple of bombs from downtown. He finished the game with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, 3 rebounds and a PIR of 12 in just 15 minutes. Marcis Steinbergs had a season-high 13 points on 3-of-5 three-pointers, 5 rebounds and a PIR of 17.
"We are very proud of our players. All of them are using the opportunity to improve and play very well, to play with character," Coach Ocampo said after the game. "I think we are improving every week. The thing is that we need players, because Hugo [Benitez] had a hamstring injury, we will see what happens, and in the end, you have less players and the risk is higher."
When Benitez got into foul trouble, Retin Obasohan knew his number would be called and played one of the best games of the season. Obasohan needed just 20 points to get 16 points on 5-of-6 two-pointers (missing what would have been the biggest dunk of the season), 3 assists, 10 fouls drawn and a PIR of 17.
"I think that for us, it is important to play all 40 minutes. That's usually what we want to do, that's our philosophy, our mentality. We just want to make sure, especially as the season goes on, our capacity to play good basketball keeps increasing," Obasohan said after the game.
"These wins helps us have more confidence. I think that we play, we compete and try to get better every single minutes, whether it is in practices or games, so to get a win while we are focused on improving, that definitely gives us a boost of confidence to believe in what we are doing."
Manresa led 46-38 at halftime and soon boosted its margin to 56-38 after the break, keeping a safe margin the rest of the way. It outrebounded Cedevita 25-14 in the second half, finishing the game with 16 offensive boards, 12 of them after the break. It also limited Cedevita to really low percentages (47.4% 2FG, 28.0% 3FG), dishing 21 assists against just 11 turnovers.
Despite its injury problems, Manresa is finding ways to be effective and win games at home. The next step is winning on the road, where Manresa only collected one victory against Aris Thessaloniki Betsson. It will get another chance to do so right away, as Manresa visits Slask Wroclaw in Round 11.
