Poor 3-Point Shooting Dooms Casademont Zaragoza Against Pau Orthez (76-80)

Casademont Zaragoza suffered its second consecutive preseason defeat, falling 76-80 to Pau Lacq Orthez at the Zuera pavilion in an alternating contest decided by one factor: the Aragonese team made just five three-pointers on 37 attempts.

A shaky start and a comeback

The opening was poor. Too many inaccuracies in fast breaks, a Justin Jaworski without touch—though continuing to shoot—and little defensive rigidity, which allowed Pau to reach the paint with ease.

The reaction came with the second unit. The connection between Nico Brussino and Guillem Vives turned the scoreboard around, and a three-pointer by Caleb Homesley at the buzzer closed the first quarter at 21-17.

The second-quarter slump and third-quarter turnaround

In the second period, with Sergi García playing shooting guard as Gonzalo García de Vitoria had announced, the team couldn't find rhythm on offense and continued missing long-range shots. Pau took advantage to build a ten-point lead and reach halftime at 38-43.

After the break, with Vives starting, Casademont improved defensively and in game control, and especially found Laurynas Birutis, who facilitated scoring significantly. They dominated the quarter clearly and closed it eight points up (64-56).

No alternatives down the stretch

But Pau stayed in the game and turned it around again (67-69). From there it was a constant back-and-forth that the French team won, not only because of their better shooting but because Casademont found no resources beyond the three-point line, which wasn't falling. Several of those three-pointers came in the final minutes trying to win the game, without success.

Two defeats and a constant

This is the second straight loss, following Monday's defeat to Valencia Basket in Benicarló (88-81). In that game, however, the team had competed with a very hot Jaworski in the final stretch of the third quarter.

The Aragonese preseason has so far been a mixed bag: an opening victory with 38 points from Jaworski against iLerna Lleida, followed by two consecutive defeats. The roster continues to gel with seven new signings and four returning players, while waiting for Jilson Bango to recover from knee surgery.