Unicaja suffers a resounding first defeat against BAXI Manresa

Unicaja suffered its first defeat of the season this Saturday when it fell (109-69) against BAXI Manresa on matchday six of the Endesa League, while Casademont Zaragoza had another feast (111-53) against Río Breogán to stay up in the rankings.

Ibon Navarro’s men saw their spectacular start to the campaign come to a halt, after ten wins and zero losses, in which they also lifted the titles of the Intercontinental Cup and the Endesa Super Cup. Manresa and Nou Congost, undefeated after three games, knocked down the leader.

The locals started at a high pace and were able to increase it so as not to give Unicaja an option, surpassed in rebounding and in the pace imposed by Diego Ocampo’s men. Derrick Alston Jr. (21 points) was the offensive leader of a Manresa team, with seven players in double digits, while the Malaga team barely found any good actions in Kendrick Perry.

Manresa is thus placed fourth, recovered from the last two defeats, the same slump that Basket Zaragoza emerged from to be in the ‘Top 8′. The skilled team signed a resounding victory against a Breogán in the relegation zone with a stellar Jilson Bango (21 points, 10 rebounds and 35 efficiency), although Bojan Dubljevic and Santi Yusta also showed off.

On the other hand, Joventut escaped from the bottom with their second straight victory by beating Bàsquet Girona (83-68), a derby in which the best was Ante Tomic, with 22 points and a PIR of 27. Meanwhile, Coviran Granada stayed stuck in the red zone with the defeat (72-84) against Surne Bilbao Basket. Melwin Pantzar (27 rating) led the Basques’ first victory away from home.