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sep 09 2026The 47th Lliga Catalana opener did not disappoint the fans gathered at the Palau d'Esports de Tarragona. In a vibrant and thrilling encounter, iLERNA Lleida defeated Asisa Joventut 89-84. With fluid ball movement and imposing physicality, Gerard Encuentra's squad was superior down the stretch. Their leader, James Batemon (17 points), was the game's leading scorer.
The first game of this Lliga Catalana started at breakneck pace. With an incredibly high tempo unusual for this point in the season, Penya and iLERNA Lleida showed flashes of quality on the court.
Ricky Rubio's assists to Boogie Ellis (4 points) gave the green-and-blacks early advantages (9-13 at the 5-minute mark), though Zacharie Perrin's (5 points) efforts for Lleida kept the game tightly contested.
The entry of Nicolás Laprovittola sparked Badalona's offense. Asisa Joventut's ball movement became much more fluid, and after a three-pointer at the buzzer by Sulejmanovic, Dani Miret's squad achieved their largest lead (18-27).
Penya had hit cruising speed and with more fluid ball movement, threatened to run away with the game (20-34 at the 14-minute mark). Emir Sulejmanovic was on fire (11 points) and James Batemon's three-pointers (8 points) for the Segrià squad were not enough to close the gap for Lleida. Gerard Encuentra called a timeout to organize his team's approach.
The timeout worked. The Barris Nord squad elevated their defensive intensity and after a three-pointer by James Batemon (9 points), iLERNA cut it to six (36-42 at the 38-minute mark). At that precise moment, Dani Miret introduced a new wrinkle, pairing Ricky Rubio and Nicolás Laprovittola on the court together for the first time. First play: Ricky's assist for a three-pointer by the Morón native. These two geniuses are going to bring plenty of joy to the green-and-black faithful. At halftime, 38-47 for Badalona.
iLERNA Lleida came out of the locker room with the lesson learned. Behind suffocating defense and the Batemon (13 points) - Ejim (11 points) duo, the Segre squad flipped the script (48-47 at the 23-minute mark). Penya was still in the locker room mentally, and if they didn't raise their physical intensity, they were going to struggle.
Far from getting nervous, Asisa Joventut returned to executing the game plan that had worked so well in the first half. Simon Birgander in the paint and Laprovittola (both with 10 points) stretched the lead again in favor of Badalona (54-63 at the 29-minute mark). Five consecutive points by Oriol Paulí in the final minute of the third quarter kept the game wide open (61-65 at the 30-minute mark). Everything would be decided in the final quarter.
In the decisive moments, the game heated up. Defenses became more suffocating and in that type of game, the Lleida squad looked more comfortable. With five minutes remaining, the score was tied at 77. The drama was served.
It seemed the game was wearing on Penya. A three-pointer by Danius McGhee gave iLERNA Lleida control of the game. Gerard Encuentra's squad led 87-81 with 50 seconds left. Asisa Joventut's efforts came up short. James Batemon didn't miss from the free-throw line and the Lleida squad secured the 89-84 victory. This Lleida team under Gerard Encuentra looks very promising.
