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 got the easy win on the road (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 accumulates four losses in a row 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 remain 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)…