Pozzecco and his team come out of Champions with broken bones: -40, Shermadini makes 20
Laguna Tenerife gained access to the Final Four of the FIBA Basketball Champions League, scheduled to take place in Badalona, by clearly overcoming Gianmarco Pozzecco’s Galatasaray in the decisive Game 3 of the quarterfinals with a score of 99-59.
After two very balanced games (84-83 and 64-62), the third confrontation was dominated by the hosts, who imposed their pace from the early stages. Defensive solidity was decisive, with a particularly effective performance by Joan Sastre on Palmer, coupled with a high-level choral performance in offense as well.
Jaime Fernández gave the first impulse to the game, followed then by contributions from Shermadini (the former Cantù player finished with 20 points), Sastre and the other key players such as Fitipaldo, Huertas and Guerra.
The start was balanced, but Tenerife gradually took control thanks to its dominance in defensive rebounding, limiting the opponents’ second opportunities. Shermadini’s entrance strengthened the presence under the basket and marked the first tear in the score, after the initial 6-6. Abromaitis’s plays put the locals ahead, and despite a momentary tie by Galatasaray (14-14), a partial signed by triples and three-point plays closed the first quarter on 28-16.
In the second period Tenerife kept the intensity high, controlling well the Turkish offense and continuing to find effective solutions on the offensive end. The gap increased to 46-28 at halftime, confirming an increasingly directional game.
The third quarter definitively decided the match: Galatasaray struggled from the start, also missing several free throws, while the hosts continued to score consistently. The margin widened without the timeouts called by Pozzecco being able to change the inertia, with the score rising to 72-48 at the end of the period.
In the last quarter Tenerife continued to hit mostly from long distance, further increasing the lead to +40. By then the game was closed and the last minutes served mainly to rotate the lesser-used players.
