Total display by Spar Girona in the second leg of Round 1. The Girona team managed to reverse the situation at the end of the first quarter and overtook the Italians in the second, thanks to a long-range shot (49 to 32). Finally, they won 82 to 71, securing a victory that certifies their qualification for the round of 16.
From less to more
With the direct set-up, the Italians surprised Spar Girona in the first three minutes of the match. And it is that the 4 points from Ziemborska and the 7 from Morrison established a 1 to 11 set. After Roberto’s timeout, Uni woke up on both sides of the court, highlighting the intensity of Pierre-Louis under the basket and the simple baskets from Touré, Hristova and Bibby (11 to 13). Despite Ziemborska’s basket (6 points), a three-pointer by Sandra in offensive transition put the team within just 1 point, forcing Sabatelli to stop the game (14 to 15). With Fontajau on, Canella hit a pass that put us ahead, while Ygueravide closed the quarter with a three-pointer from long range (19 to 15).
Hitting threes
With the change of quarter, Guerrero, Touré and, again, Carol extended Spar Girona’s lead from long range, turning Fontajau into a true festival of threes (partial 27 to 4, 28 to 15). Sabatelli tried to find solutions by slowing down the pace of the game with a timeout, but a basket by Touré, a spectacular triple by Canella on one leg and two baskets by Pierre extended the score to 39 to 21. However, Kunaiyi’s points under the basket brought the Italians closer to 14 points, and Roberto decided to stop the game. The final adjustments of our coach allowed Spar to score through Hristova and Bibby, reaching the break with a score of 49 to 32.
A for the maximum
The passage through the locker rooms allowed Uni to maintain a comfortable difference of 18 points thanks to the scores of Pierre and Hristova (52 to 34). However, a partial of 0 to 7 brought Campobasso closer to only 11 points (52 to 41). Roberto’s timeout changed the direction of Spar, who focused their attacks under the basket, with a standout Pierre taking advantage of her physicality (56 to 41). Sabatelli stopped the game, and the Italians showed an offensive improvement, but the final points from Guerrero and Hristova, with a spectacular triple on the buzzer, widened the score again to 69 to 51.
Ranking
With the score favorable and Magnolia needing points to reverse the situation, Campobasso managed to close the gap thanks to their success in the inside game (73 to 58). The favorable dynamics of the Italians continued, especially with the Spar bonus (74 to 64), but a turnover and a triple from Bibby ended up sentencing the match with 2:23 left (80 to 64). Despite the visiting timeout and Campobasso’s improved offensive performance, the lack of time and Spar’s good final defenses defined the match, which ended with a clear victory for Uni by 82 to 71.
