A 24 point night from Louis Olinde caps a defiant Manresa comeback and keeps the club charging toward the playoffs
Olinde delivers buzzer-beater as Manresa rallies past Neptunas
Informes de partidos
3 Min lectura
Regular Season
Round 15 of 18
Regular Season
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BAXI ManresaMAN
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Neptunas KlaipedaNEP
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Overview
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BAXI Manresa delivered one of its most dramatic wins of the season on Wednesday night, storming back from 17 points down to defeat Neptunas Klaipeda 97–96 at the buzzer. Head coach Diego Ocampo could hardly hide his emotion after the comeback. “It’s big,” he said. “The guys deserve it because they fight a lot. The confidence and the feeling is the key… and the feeling with the fans, because they help us a lot.”
Manresa’s home crowd embodied that spirit, pushing their team through every momentum swing until Louis Olinde delivered the final blow — a game‑winning layup as time expired. The German forward’s heroics capped a night in which Manresa refused to fold despite missing players and a second‑half deficit that threatened to put the game out of reach.
The opening stages hinted at a tug-of-war, but Neptunas gradually seized control, finishing the first half up 7 and exploding early in the third quarter to build a 17‑point cushion. The visitors’ transition game repeatedly punished Manresa, setting the stage for what looked like a decisive breakaway — until the hosts ignited a fourth‑quarter surge that flipped the script entirely.
It was no coincidence that the ball ended up in Olinde’s hands when it mattered most. The 27-year-old had kept his team afloat throughout the contest. Steadily scoring throughout, he finished the game with 24 points and 9 boards.
“Amazing win for us,” Olinde said. “We are four or five people down, but everyone stepped up today. The young guys on our team did an amazing job. We fought back. Today is about celebrating, enjoying and then we have to refocus because we have an important game at the weekend.”
Pierre Oriola also impressed for the home team, recording 14 points and 7 rebounds. Retin Obasohan tallied 11 points and 6 assists, Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu also scored 11 and Marcis Steinbergs added 10.
Arnas Velicka stood out for Neptunas 25 points and 11 assists before fouling out late and Mindaudas Girdziunas scored a personal-best 21 in defeat.
With the win, Manresa moves to 9-6 for the season and strengthens its hopes of playoff basketball. Olinde hopes his squad can remain composed in the final straight of the regular season.
“Nine wins is good, but we have to keep going,” said Olinde. “We want to make the playoffs for sure. It’s doable, it’s on us now.”
As a result of the disappointing collapse, Neptunas slides to 6-9 and suffers a huge blow in their hunt for qualification. While disappointed, Coach Gediminas Petrauskas remained proud of his guys.
“We played an excellent game, knowing we missed one of our main guys offensively," Petrauskas said.
Table-topping Hapoel Midtown Jerusalem stands in Neptunas’s way next Wednesday, while Ocampo’s side will face U-BT-Cluj-Napoca on the same night.
