Surne Bilbao Dominates Manresa in Liga Endesa Opener at Miribilla (107-92)

Surne Bilbao has not lost a game since the start of summer, and the league has begun the same way. They defeated Kids&Us Manresa 107-92 at Bilbao Arena, with a maximum lead of seventeen points and an offensive output that confirms what the team has been showing since August.

A first quarter of scoring
The start was local, with a free throw from Harald Frey and four consecutive points from Bastien Vautier for a 7-2 lead. Manresa reacted and managed to get close (9-7), but a 6-0 run with Adam Somogyi very active returned control to the home team.

The Catalans tightened again and the period closed very tight: 19-18.

Ongenda's warning
The second quarter remained close, with a 7-7 tie in the first four minutes. Past the midpoint came the only Manresa lead of the game, with a dunk from Nick Ongenda.

It didn't last long. A three-pointer from Martin Krampelj and two free throws gave the home team a five-point lead back, and baskets from Frey and Darrun Hilliard in the closing moments maintained that margin at halftime.

The concerning stat for Bilbao in that stretch was Ongenda, who reached thirteen points in the first half and exposed the Bilbao team's difficulties in the paint.

The third quarter decided it
After halftime, the game changed dimension. Bilbao raised their defensive level, controlled the boards, and found offensive solidity to open up the gap.
Tryggvi Hlinason dominated under the basket and, on the perimeter, Hilliard and Margiris Normantas took on the scoring responsibility.

Manresa, meanwhile, couldn't find their rhythm, penalized especially by a very poor three-point percentage.

And the fourth, to manage
The final period started with a block from Normantas and four consecutive points from Vautier. With another basket from Normantas himself, the lead reached sixteen points.

With six minutes remaining, Somogyi scored his first three-pointer of the game. From there, both teams continued scoring, but the Catalans never found a way to cut into the lead and the final score was 107-92.

The numbers
Hilliard was the best performer for the home team: 19 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds. Hlinason posted 12 points and 8 rebounds, four of them offensive.
For Manresa, Ongenda was the big problem for Bilbao's defense with 17 points and three blocks, and Kolenda added 13.