The Canary Islanders claimed the Festival Tournament after a strong fourth quarter that secured victory despite Fuenlabrada's advantage for most of the game
Basketball returned to Fernando Martín on Wednesday, September 9 with the second preseason game for Baloncesto Fuenlabrada. The Madrid-based team faced off against one of the favorites for promotion this season, Gran Canaria under Bruno Savignani.
The opening minutes made it clear why this was a preseason game, as both teams struggled to find their shooting touch early on. After a few minutes, the first baskets came in a frenetic game that led to several lead changes (9-8).
The rookies led the scoring in the first quarter with six points each, Jonathan Zhao and Bruno Cardoso, who seemed determined to keep the fans on their feet throughout the game. Zhao did it by hitting two consecutive high-impact three-pointers, while the Rio native impressed with several powerful dunks. Despite their efforts, the home team finished behind 19-20.
The second quarter started with the first baskets from familiar faces, Jorge Bilbao and Iván Cruz opened their scoring to give their team the advantage, both with a three-pointer (25-20). A good run for the home team that was going to be contained by the great individual plays of Marques Townes from beyond the arc with 8 consecutive points (29-28). The Canary Islanders caught the rookies, Christ Okito and Andrés Ruperéz, to give the Dominican an advantage.
Facing Townes' momentum, Iván Cruz caught fire to maintain his team's lead. The power forward scored ten points in the second quarter to keep his team alive (34-31). A good run from the visitors led by Fran Guerra and another three-pointer from Marques Townes tied the game 40-40. The first half ended with a score of 46-42 in favor of Iñaki Martín's team.
The second half started with a good run from Gran Canaria that tied the game on the scoreboard 49-48. The usual suspect appeared, Vítor Benite, to keep his team ahead in the third quarter 52-51, all of his team's points had come from his hands. Many minutes on the court for Baloncesto Fuenlabrada's academy players that Savignani's team took advantage of to tie 53-53.
Iñaki Martín's team regained a good lead after a great run and an excellent three-pointer from Romaric Beleme 58-53. The Canary Islanders stepped on the gas with the younger players on the court to regain the lead, 60-63. Another great home run in the final minute brought joy back to Fernando Martín, with their team back in front before the final quarter, 65-63.
The final quarter started with high intensity and physical plays despite being a preseason game. In this high intensity, Gran Canaria benefited, continuing to take advantage of the many minutes on the court for Baloncesto Fuenlabrada's younger players, 67-72. Facing the high intensity of the visiting plays, Fernando Martín responded with strong support for their team and many complaints and whistles at the referees. The high intensity of the Canary Islanders left two of their players on the sidelines, Robert Stumbris and Joaquín Rodriguez, who left the game after reaching 5 personal fouls.
Despite the ejections, Bruno Savignani's team didn't lose momentum with the great quality of their bench players, nor did they lower the intensity 71-78. The plays resulted in minutes where the game and the crowd got heated. The game ended with a home loss 80-87. The home team thus headed to Belgrade this weekend to play in the Admiralbet Open Air tournament against Partizan Belgrade and Besiktas with a record of 1-1.