Alimerka Oviedo Baloncesto has achieved its third victory of the season – the second away from home – after beating UMC Real Valladolid 78-82 on the seventh day of the Primera FEB 24/25. And they did so after recovering from a hesitant start in which they fell by thirteen points but with the virtues of a sticky, guerrilla team that, in the final minutes, found more success than its rival.
After the minute of silence in memory of those who died as a result of DANA in Valencia, Alimerka OCB faced a playoff match at the bottom of the standings this Saturday in Pisuerga. A heads or tails to extend an advent in which it will be time to travel to Burgos to face Ureta Tizona Burgos, receive Movistar Estudiantes behind the FIBA windows and pack the bag again to go down to the Real Betis field. With those, the match had a high-flying rhythm at the beginning, a round trip where the locals achieved a return of 9 points on the scoreboard at the end of the first quarter, taking advantage of the constant breaks in the defensive seams of the Asturian team (30- 24).
Despite being punished in terms of fouls (Cosialls, Hutchinson and Ike Nweke), Javi Rodríguez‘s men, far from shrinking, increased their defensive intensity in the second period, leaving less shooting options for the rival team, becoming master and lord from both zones, which allowed the Principality team to regain order in attack and the lead on the scoreboard for a 42-45, a result with which both teams would reach halftime after a quarter with excessive stops due to fouls, a level of contact very low and who, fortunately without consequences, saw how the referee María Ángeles García Crespo had to be treated after a sprained ankle.
At the beginning of the second half, and with the third quarter already underway, the OCB went to war. He maintained the defensive tone that has made him compete in all the games of the season except the initial one in Castelló and he performed as always. They were also Martí’s first minutes after his injury and the captain underpinned an interior game that once again, thanks to an immeasurable Bercy and Cosialls, limited the rival threats in both rings and added to the minimum. As for the score, the third place would be very poor for both teams; So much so that the match had to be decided in the last quarter since the scoreboard showed 57-56 for Lolo Encinas’ team.
Already in the last quarter, locals and visitors entered into an exchange of blows where Alimerka Oviedo not only felt more comfortable but also knew they were superior. Also fortunately. A three-pointer by Lobaco placed the lead at 61-68 with 6 minutes left to play. And despite the fact that Valladolid held on to the game. Valinotti and Amarante closed out a valuable victory in the final minutes.
Next Tuesday the OCB receives Teknei Bizkaia Zornotza in the Spanish Cup. Tickets can be purchased here.
Chronicle thanks to the collaboration of Roberto Carrica, student of Journalism at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Valladolid.
