In this all-Spanish clash, the visitors improved to 5-1 while the hosts dropped to 2-4
Nico Brussino the hero as Gran Canaria beats Joventut in OT, 76-78
Dreamland Gran Canaria defeated fellow Spanish side Joventut Badalona 76-78 in overtime after Nico Brussino hit a clutch three-pointer with 8.1 seconds left in the extra period. With this victory, Gran Canaria now holds a 5-1 record while Joventut is 2-4 and has lost three straight in the BKT EuroCup.
Caleb Homesley was Gran Canaria's leading scorer with 14 points, followed by Mike Tobey with 12. Andrew Albicy and Brussino both netted 11 points, and John Shurna chipped in with 10. Joventut's Ante Tomic was the game's top scorer with 18 points. Kaiser Gates and Devin Dotson both had 13 points, with Artem Pustovyi scoring 12.
Game Videos
In what was a very hard-fought first quarter, the two teams traded blow after blow, with seven different players getting on the scoresheet before Ante Tomic moved to four points after tying the score at 8-8. George Conditt started to come to the fore for Gran Canaria, opening the quarter’s biggest margin at 10-14 and scoring the visitors’ last seven points to make it 17-17 after 10 minutes. Kaiser Gates was the second leading scorer in the first quarter, netting 5 points for Joventut.
Dani Miret’s side, boosted by a Spanish League win over Turkish Airlines EuroLeague side Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz last weekend, showed plenty of energy in the early stages of the second quarter. Adam Hanga acted as the sparkplug for Joventut, with the veteran netting a triple, Tomic scoring inside and Gates draining a three to make it a 29-21 ballgame, the largest lead of the night. Gran Canaria refused to roll over and fought back through Caleb Homesley, Andrew Albicy and Miquel Salvo to pull within one point, 34-33. Another score by Tomic and a three-pointer by Gates ensured Joventut led 39-33 at halftime.
Albicy’s four points prevented Joventut from pulling away in the first few minutes of the second half after buckets by Hanga and Devin Dotson made it 44-37, then a layup by Joe Thomassson and five straight points from Mike Tobey tied the game at 44-44. Joventut’s reliable trio on the night of Gates, Hanga and Tomic calmed things down again as the hosts led 50-46, then Pep Busquets’ three-pointer in the latter stages of the quarter ensured it was 53-48 entering the final period.
Joventut continued its momentum into the fourth as a fast-break dunk by Busquets was followed by a triple by Pau Ribas, opening a 10-point lead for the first time on the night, 58-48. Pustovyi made it a 12-point game, 60-48, before Albicy stopped the run with a floater, 60-50, with seven minutes to go. Gran Canaria started going to the line with regularity, forcing Joventut into the bonus. When Albicy found Tobey for a three-pointer, the deficit was cut to four points, 61-57. With 3:13 remaining, Tobey went 2 for 2, making it a one-possession ballgame, but Tomic showed his quality to score under the basket, 63-59.
A smart out-of-bounds play involving Dotson and Tomic led to the guard restoring a six-point lead, 65-59, with a layup, before Homesley’s corner three made things interesting again, 65-62. Pustovyi had a perfect trip to the line, but Joventut had a defensive breakdown, leading to a Homesley three-pointer, 67-65. Joventut used a touch pass by Tomic to find Pustovyi, who went to charity stripe, but he missed both. Homesley then tied the game with seven seconds remaining after scoring a mid-range jumper. Dotson’s three-point attempt before the buzzer was off the mark, meaning it was 67-67 after 40 minutes. On to overtime!
Tomic’s mid-range score got Joventut off the mark, but John Shurna’s corner triple put Gran Canaria back ahead, 69-70. With 2:48 to go, Tomic went 1 for 2 to tie the game at 70-70. Shurna stepped up again to give Gran Canaria a 70-72 edge, then Pustovyi converted a couple of free throws. Brussino made a three-pointer to put the visitors ahead again, 72-75, but Dotson’s triple tied things up again at 75-75. Tobey fouled out with his fifth foul with 45 seconds left, and Brussino scored what proved to be the game-winning basket with a three-pointer, 75-78. Tomic went 1 for 2 from the line with 1.2 seconds to go as Gran Canaria grabbed the win on Joventut’s court, 76-78.