Kids&Us Manresa needed a night like this. After a winless start to the Liga Endesa season and doubts in Europe, Diego Ocampo's team dominated Roma Basketball at Nou Congost (108-88). The victory evens their record in Group D and restores some of the confidence they had lost in recent weeks.
The game got on track early. Manresa came out with hot three-point shooting that Roma couldn't stop, hitting 6 of 12 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, and also dominated the paint. Turnovers from the Italian team fueled the home team's transition game, and the first quarter ended 32-21, already showing a clear difference.
Mannion Keeps Roma Afloat, But It's Not Enough
Roma responded in the second quarter. Nico Mannion, who finished with 21 points, and Stevenson led their team and the Italian squad tied that quarter (25-25), but failed to cut into the deficit and went into halftime down 11 points (57-46). After the break, the script barely changed: Roma scored, but Manresa answered every time, and the third quarter ended 82-70.
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A Fourth Quarter to Seal It
The verdict came early in the final quarter. Manresa tightened its defense, Roma ran out of answers, and a 26-18 run pushed the lead to a final 20 points. During that stretch, one of the plays most celebrated by Nou Congost was a pass from Lukasz Kolenda for a dunk by Nick Ongenda. Benítez orchestrated everything: 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists in Manresa's most complete game of the season.
With this victory, Manresa ties Roma at two wins and two losses in the fight for the top-4 spot in Group D, and leaves behind, at least for one night, the label of the competition's worst defense.