FIATC Girona claimed their first European victory on Tuesday at Fontajau in front of 2,873 spectators, defeating Dinamo Bucharest 87-75 in the opening matchday of the FIBA Europe Cup. It wasn't a polished performance—they struggled from three-point range and allowed too many easy looks inside—but they secured the win through offensive rebounding and a dominant fourth quarter that finally shut down their opponents.
The team arrived with fresh wounds. Three days earlier, they had suffered a 118-78 defeat at Buesa Arena, and facing a team coming out of the qualifying round offered a chance to change the narrative. They did, though it took more effort than expected.
A First Half Without a Clear Master
Mac McClung scored Girona's first basket in European competition. From there, the opening quarter became a back-and-forth affair until the American shooting guard, a three-time NBA Dunk Contest champion, capped a 9-0 run with a reverse layup that electrified the crowd (21-13). Dinamo, which turned the ball over nine times in that quarter alone, stayed within striking distance. They closed the period with a surge to trail by just four (23-19).
The start of the second quarter belonged to the Romanian team. A 2-8 run in three minutes forced head coach Moncho Fernández to call a timeout. Derrick Marks then hit his team's first two three-pointers and put Dinamo ahead (34-37). The visitors thrived on one-on-one play from their five American players, who accounted for 95% of their first-half points, and from their accuracy near the rim, shooting over 75% from two-point range.
Girona struggled to impose the high-tempo pace they wanted, but found their answer in the final stretch before halftime. Stanley Whittaker, Pep Busquets, and McClung connected on three consecutive three-pointers to flip the scoreboard and reach the break with a lead (47-44). Up to that point, the lead had changed hands 18 times.
Read also
Offensive Rebounding, the Lifeline
The third quarter remained tight and exposed Girona's main problem. They were shooting nearly twenty percentage points worse from two-point range than their opponents (48% versus 68%), and from three-point range they fell below 30% for the third consecutive game. What kept them in the game was their work on the offensive glass: they finished with 22 offensive rebounds, more than defensive ones. Thanks to those second chances, they entered the fourth quarter ahead, with McClung's basket making it 65-63.
Ten Minutes of Defense
The game was decided in the final quarter. Girona stopped losing the battle in the paint, tightened their defense, and pulled away with a 18-7 run that made it 85-73 with just minutes remaining. It was their largest lead at twelve points, and there was no Romanian comeback. Dinamo, which had won the second and third quarters by a point, managed only 12 points in the fourth.
McClung led the home team with 16 points, followed by Martinas Geben (13), David N'Guessan (12), Whittaker (11), and Jassel Pérez (10). It was a well-distributed victory, with seven Girona players reaching double figures in efficiency rating. For Dinamo, Stark, Marks, and Roberts each finished with 18 points, but the three of them combined for 54 of their team's 75 points.
Girona returns to Liga Endesa action on Saturday, October 10 (21:00) in Lugo against Río Breogán, who arrive undefeated after two matchdays.