The magic of basketball sometimes turns into drama. This epic final of the regular phase of the ACB will be remembered for years. Due to seismic movements above and below. The thing about permanence is another matter. What occupied the people of Miribilla was the playoff. And such suspense was concentrated that the 34 games and the heart of Gran Canaria were placed in the hands of Luz. He threw a Goudelock triple-stone that didn’t even touch the rim and the Brazilian point guard picked up the loose ball. The score was tied at 81. An uncontested tray for a player who knows them all, because he has many battles behind him. He failed it incomprehensibly. Sport is that cruel, sometimes it gives you glory and other times it throws you in the mud. He hit the dust.
There almost all the options escaped Bilbao Basket for sealing the feat of entering the next phase of the ACB. Granca and Murcia had lost and he had it in his bag, he knew the results and perhaps that was the worst because he was overly pressed for the giant prize. He wasted it, because in extra time Betis, led by a stellar Evans, was much more solid. It’s hard to win a game with 15 missed free throws. This Surne loves it rough. Last year he achieved permanence with a miracle, and without an audience, and on this occasion he has become related to that bump in Raúl López’s farewell in 2016, in which a very distant triple by Sastre with a Zaragoza that nothing was at stake ruined other title eliminators.
Among its thousand rules and codes, the sport handles one known to all: when two teams face each other and one risks his life and the other comes to party after achieving his goals, it is rare that the coin does not fall on the side of the first. But sometimes the tension drowns the latter and frees the latter. And that happened in Miribilla. Bilbao Basket could not pass up the opportunity to do what was in their power, and they did, just like their direct rivals. There was no desire to look at other corners. And from minute one it was obvious that the one who most wanted to win was Bilbao Basket. This was reflected in a full first quarter in defense and attack, with a 15-2 start. What an activity! Casimiro saw the calamity and took Brown and Paseckins off the track almost without breaking a sweat, who did not understand how to get in front of a hurricane led by Delgado.
Walker filled Mumbrú’s defense with energy. Johnson scored the first green and white basket and that was when 3:10 had passed. The markers of Las Palmas and Murcia smiled and it seems that they gave gasoline to the ‘men in black’. Betis was killed by his shots of two in the first act: 1/8 in shots, 12 percent. But in what could be the last commitment of the year, the Surne could not separate himself from his usual DNA, the one with the saw teeth. A bad second quarter, listless, with the rotations lowering the level, allowed the Sevillian team to put the tables: 20-20, after a 5-18, with three consecutive three-pointers. The Basques scored again (39-30) but there was still a world to play for.
Delgado started another of his private wars. This time for a minor struggle with Pasecniks in which he was fouled. Then he provoked an attack on the green-and-white giant. That heated up a game that was very warm. The results continued to smile on the other two courts where eighth place was at stake. Delgado was injured in an action and was left lying in the Andalusian painting. Masiulis took advantage of the bewilderment to hit a triple and raise the distance to 10 (62-52) at 2:30 p.m. to finish. And there was more: a free throw of the two that Withey had to place the +11.
Two mate attempts, by Masiulis and Withey, could put more ground in between for the Biscayans, but they went into limbo. Evans didn’t want to give up the opportunity to put his stamp on him. With his enormous talent and with Reyes out of his mind (he did an unsportsmanlike thing), Betis made it 0-8 and served as a lever to get one behind at the end of the third quarter: 65-64. The Andalusians did not play anything, they were only judges for the plyoff and relegation, they moved around the track with a back and forth plan and that made them travel uninhibited. Pozas gave them an interesting rotation.
Until Wiley put Casimiro’s team ahead. The Surne made the worst possible decisions. It was the first time that Bilbao Basket had seen themselves out of the playoffs. It was all anxiety and he did it again: when the anguish took over the bodies, Walker picked up a loose ball and converted it into a triple to tie and continue to believe. Another chapter to take your breath away. The end of regulation time was pure tragedy, while the favorable stars were confirmed in the distance. Betis got four offensive rebounds in one action. It was certified that that could not throw more emotion. The carousel of free throws led to an absolute tachycardia, with Luz missing a basket that was worth a playoff.
The extension was Andalusian. Evans had caused a panic and the defense had focused on him, something that benefited other players, such as Johnson, who was a player, and Wiley. End of a memorable course in Miribilla. Until the last second there was an option to extend the season, of an elusive playoff since 2015. There will be many who do not continue. Finally, ninth place that thought tomorrow more cold is not bad at all. Seeing yourself out of the anguish of Andorra and Burgos is the healthiest thing. A new stage is preparing. Let’s see if Mumbrú is in it.