By Javier Molero/ jmolero@eurohoops.net
ACB Round 18 kicked off on Saturday with several interesting games and more than one surprise.
In the first Saturday game, Río Breogán secured an easy road win (64-83) against Covirán Granada. Granada is at the bottom of the ACB with a record of 1-17. Brankovic (15 p.) and DeWayne Russell (14 p.) led the victory after a great second half.
Dreamland Gran Canaria couldn’t complete the comeback in Andorra (94-78), and Jaka Lakovic’s team has now lost four straight games in the Spanish competition (6-11).
Shannon Evans (16 p.) and Artem Pustovyi (15 p.) led the local win (5-13). In Gran Canaria, Isaiah Wong was the top scorer (18 p.)
Surne Bilbao edged out Joventut (80-76) in a close game that went down to the wire. Ponsarnau’s men stepped up in the final quarter to improve their record to 10-8, the same as Dani Miret’s team. Darrun Hilliard (15 p.) was the top scorer for the local team.
In the final game of the night, Bàsquet Girona secured a hard-fought victory in a close contest that went down to the wire. The Catalan team, whose game was tied with only seconds remaining, earned a crucial win, bringing their record to 9-9. Burgos battled until the very end, but remains near the bottom of the standings with a 3-15 record.
ACB Round 18 (31/01)
- Covirán Granada – Río Breogán 64-83
- MoraBanc Andorra – Dreamland Gran Canaria 94-78
- Surne Bilbao – Joventut 80-76
- Bàsquet Girona – San Pablo Burgos 77-71
ACB Standings: Real Madrid (15-2), Valencia (13-4), Barcelona (12-5), UCAM Murcia (11-6), Baskonia (11-5)…