LUGO - An offensive drought early in the fourth quarter sealed Baxi Manresa's (91-78) fourth consecutive loss, their third in the ACB league. Rio Breogan built a 14-point lead in the final 10 minutes, led by a stellar Mihailo Andric, who scored 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Seven turnovers and difficulty defending the scheme Diego Ocampo presented hampered Breogan in the first quarter. After an even start (5-5), Manresa made the first run thanks to three consecutive three-pointers, two from Ferran Bassas, forcing Luis Casimiro to call his first timeout at the 5-minute mark.
Breogan continued accumulating turnovers, overwhelmed by their offensive struggles. Manresa continued extending their lead, and the Breogan coach called another timeout early in the second quarter (19-31, min. 12).
From there, the emergence of Aranitovic and Francis Alonso revolutionized the blue team's game. Breogan read the opposing defense better. Additionally, offensive rebounds gave them second chances to punish a Manresa team that saw their advantage disappear in the final stretch of the first half after a 7-0 run (39-43, halftime).
https://youtu.be/O3ytR8qMnAg?si=ZdqXhnoPeksW21_k
Both teams came out with much more offensive aggression in the second half. Álex Reyes emerged after a first half in which he was more invisible than ever. His eight points in the third quarter kept Manresa afloat, who struggled to stop Congolese center Sakho in the paint.
The continuous back-and-forth left the game's resolution for the final and decisive fourth quarter (62-63, min. 30), in which Breogan raised their defensive level and showed balanced offensive play. While Manresa missed free throws, their opponent, despite fouling out quickly, found easy baskets.
Ocampo called a timeout when Andric completed the Breogan comeback (66-63), but his players continued missing shots—Álex Reyes had an open look from the corner to bring his team within three with five minutes remaining. Breogan pulled away and the Manresa coach sought, unsuccessfully, a response with another timeout. An 18-3 run sealed the game with just over three minutes left.
91 - Rio Breogan (15+24+23+29): Russell (7), Arturs Kurucs (9), Aranitovic (11), Andric (15) and Sakho (12) -starting five-, Brankovic (8), Francis Alonso (14), Cook (-), Mavra (13) and Dibba (2).
78 - Baxi Manresa (26+17+20+15): Bassas (14), Brooks (8), Reyes (21), Knudsen (11) and Akobundu (5) -starting five-; Oriola (3), Ubal (4), Steinbergs (3), Gaspá (2) and Obasohan (7).