The Spanish side now hopes to make it two straight
Baskonia's suffering is finally over thanks to Luwawu-Cabarrot’s strong second half
Отчеты о матчах
3 Минутное чтение
Regular Season
Round 7 of 38
Regular Season
Baskonia Vitoria-GasteizBKN
9285
Dubai BasketballDUB
Overview
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Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot did his best Superman impression in the second half of Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz’s home game against Dubai Basketball and showed why he is one of the top players in the EuroLeague this season.
The Frenchman poured in 22 of his 25 points after halftime, including knocking down 5 of his 6 three-pointers in a 92-85 home victory - Baskonia’s first of the season.
“Everybody chipped in today. It was an amazing win. Amazing team chemistry. We showed a lot of resilience. Going 0-6 is tough mentally. We showed today that we can do good things in our home. I am very proud of this team, very proud of us,” said Luwawu-Cabarrot, who struggled over the first 20 minutes.
Baskonia built up a 9-point lead in the first quarter and the gap was 10 points early in the second quarter. But Paolo Galbiati’s team trailed 41-42 at the break.
Baskonia was down 44-49 early in the second quarter when Luwawu-Cabarrot drained 4 three-pointers in helping the team surge ahead 64-58. Luwawu-Cabarrot added a driving layup and three-pointer in pushing the cushion to 81-68.
It was actually a 15-point lead (86-71) with only 2:38 minutes left when Dubai put a real scare into the hosts. Filip Petrusev, who finished with 22 points, sparked a rally to trim the gap within 88-85 inside the final minute.
Luwawu-Cabarrot ended any doubts, though, with 2 free throws with 30 seconds remaining to ice the game.
“This one was very important for us, for our confidence. We are very happy. Also happy that this is a double week so that we can use this win to keep going and keep building for the season,” said the 30-year-old French forward.
Hamidou Diallo continued his strong first season in Europe with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
“It was a must-win, do whatever it takes, grind it out. And that’s what we did tonight. We get to celebrate this one,” the American forward said. “This is the kind of team we are. You don’t know whose night it is going to be. That’s why we have to prepare the little things every day and keep trying to stack good days on top of this one.”
The victory was not only Baskonia’s first of the season but it was also the first EuroLeague win as head coach for Galbiati, who made the jump after coaching the last two seasons with BKT EuroCup side Dolomiti Energia Trento. But he talked about his players.
“I am happy for the players. They suffered a lot. I saw their frustration over the weeks. And I am very happy for them,” said the 41-year-old Italian.
Led by Luwawu-Cabarrot and his hitting 6 of 11 three-pointers, Baskonia shot 40 percent from long range - much better than its average of 31.8%, which ranked 17th in the league.
At the other end of the ball, Baskonia came into the game dead last in defensive scoring and opponent’s PIR - with the 85 points and 86 index rating well below the team’s season averages of 96.0 and 108.2, respectively.
Baskonia started the season with three losses by 7 points or fewer and then dropped its last three in double figures. But that losing is over. And the team hosts Anadolu Efes Istanbul on October 31 in the second of three straight home games.
As Luwawu-Cabarrot said, this is a great chance for the team to keep the momentum going.
