Leyma is letting games slip away in the same manner. After losing yesterday's Coliseum final to Bilbao despite leading by nine at halftime, the team fell in overtime to the hosts on Sunday after rallying from nine down in the fourth quarter. Two losses in two days in the same arena, with a common thread: the team competes, but fails to close.
A game of constant swings
The start belonged to Leyma. After an initial 7-5, a 0-8 run put Leyma six ahead (7-13), but the local response with Dani Díez and Joaquín Taboada left the first quarter at 22-25.
Burgos took over in the second quarter: three-pointers from Chase Audige and interior contributions from Sekou Doumbouya, Chris Sengfelder, and Balsa Koprivica gave them a 47-43 halftime lead.
The back-and-forth continued after the break, with the Galicians regaining the lead (57-58) and the third quarter ending tied at 65.
Down nine, and back again
The fourth quarter started at 70-67 and Burgos built a nine-point lead (81-72). Then Leyma responded with a 2-14 run that put them back in front (83-86) and the game became a constant exchange until 95-95. The final Galician possession came up empty and the game went to overtime.
There was no contest in the extra period. Porfi Fisac's team was much more accurate and with a minute and a half remaining already led by seven (104-97), a lead they managed through the final 107-101 score.
Verge, the best once again
Alonzo Verge posted 27 points and was once again Leyma's most decisive player, as he was at the Copa Galicia, where he won the tournament's MVP award. He was joined by Tomas Dimsa (12), Lukas Uleckas (11), Dino Radoncic (9), Dmytro Skapintsev (9), and George Conditt (9).
For Burgos, Doumbouya and Dani Díez each added 15 and DJ Steward contributed 14. The local story was the debut of Balsa Koprivica, who played his first minutes with the team.