GIRONA. Bàsquet Girona returned to winning ways in the Liga Endesa with a 90-81 victory over Casademont Zaragoza in a game marked by two completely contrasting halves. The team coached by Moncho Fernández delivered a devastating first half from beyond the arc, broke their three-pointer record in the competition, and ended a three-game losing streak to reclaim 10th place and keep their European dreams alive. Ike Livingston and Andrew Needham led the Girona victory with 20 points each.
The game started at a blistering pace with plenty of back-and-forth action in the opening minutes. Casademont Zaragoza found good offensive opportunities early on, but Bàsquet Girona quickly turned the game into an offensive showcase from beyond the three-point line. The hosts opened the contest with extraordinary accuracy and made their first six three-pointers, running up the scoreboard to a quick 22-11.
The visiting team completely stalled for several minutes and the Catalan squad took advantage of the moment to break open the game. A 18-0 run left Casademont Zaragoza reeling and allowed Girona to build a 17-point lead following several consecutive plays by Hildreth. The visitors tried to respond with two three-pointers from Yusta, but the home dominance was total by the end of the first quarter (32-17), especially on the boards, where Girona was asserting its physicality clearly.
Bàsquet Girona's offensive onslaught continued in the second period. Needham, Martínez, and Hughes kept punishing from the perimeter and the Catalan team reached a practically insurmountable lead at 45-21. Joan Plaza tried to stop the barrage with a timeout, but the script didn't change. Three-pointers kept falling and the margin kept growing.
The most spectacular moment of the game came midway through the second quarter. Two more three-pointers from Needham and another from Livingston pushed the scoreboard to a commanding 54-24. Bàsquet Girona was putting on a historic offensive display in the Liga Endesa, with an extraordinary three-point percentage and very fluid ball movement. Needham and Livingston reached halftime with a spectacular combined rating, reflecting the absolute dominance of the Girona squad, which went into the locker room with a commanding 58-32.
However, the game changed completely after halftime. Although Needham opened the second half with another three-pointer to make it 61-32, Casademont Zaragoza responded with pride and significantly elevated its defensive intensity. Girona lost its fluidity, began committing turnovers, and strung together mistakes that allowed the visitors to get back in the game.
The Aragonese team put together a 2-16 run that brought the excitement back to the contest. Spissu and Wright-Foreman led the visiting comeback, while Yusta kept his team alive with his constant energy on both ends of the floor. Girona, which had dominated with absolute authority for twenty minutes, began to struggle against a much more aggressive and accurate Casademont Zaragoza.
The third quarter ended with a concerning 72-60 that left the outcome in doubt. In the final period, Wright-Foreman and Yusta cut the deficit even further and Robinson got it down to 84-78 with barely a minute remaining, creating doubt in the Girona arena.
But Bàsquet Girona knew how to hold on at the critical moment. The hosts found composure from the free-throw line and avoided a comeback that seemed impossible for much of the afternoon. The Catalan squad closed out a crucial 90-81 victory to snap their poor run and continue looking toward the European positions in the Liga Endesa standings.
With this victory, Bàsquet Girona reaches 13 wins on the season and matches their best-ever record in the ACB with five games still to play. Casademont Zaragoza, meanwhile, squanders the opportunity to move further away from the relegation zone after arriving at the game strengthened by recent victories over Hiopos Lleida and Gran Canaria.