Photos: ADV
A match of ups and downs between CB Cuenca and Academia Baloncesto, resolved with a 57-68 visitor victory. The people from Cuenca left good minutes on the court, especially in the second quarter, although they fell apart in a third and fourth in the that they gave away too much and were not forceful on the rebound.
Gonzalo opened the season for a CB Cuenca who quickly received the reply of an Academia Baloncesto spurred on by a triple from Lozano. Lázaro would make it 5-5 from the triple line, and although the Albaceteños took the lead again, a basket by Adam and a good penetration by Jaime Muñoz – acting as player-coach – turned the score around to 10 -9. CB Cuenca was better in the final moments of the match, with a triple from Adam Malti included, although the visitors balanced the balance just before going to the locker room (15-15).
The second quarter brought with it the best minutes of Jaime Muñoz’s team: the point guard himself scored a basket, sneaking between two rivals to make it 17-15, and the following minutes would be a monologue from the greens, who had locked their basket. Bruno Martínez put the finishing touch with a three-point shot that put the score at 25-17 and forced a timeout on the rival bench. The Albacete team woke up as the minutes passed, although the people from Cuenca were able to defend their advantage to go six up at halftime: 33-27.
Academia Baloncesto would continue with the good trend of the second quarter and would begin to dominate in a third quarter marked by the lack of success of the people from Cuenca in rebounding, both offensively and defensively. Giving rise to many second plays, the Cuenca team began to see its advantage reduced. Palacios would do damage from the three-point line and his teammate Castillo joined the cause to end up coming back: 38-40. CB Cuenca gave away too many balls in attack, accusing haste and unforced errors, so the visitors would continue taking advantage to go up to 43-47.
The Cuenca team continued to give away too much in this last quarter, something that the Albacete team was not going to forgive. Román made it 48-56 in the Esperanza Calvo light with a three-pointer, although a basket by Pinedo and free throws by Bruno made the game interesting again with five and a half minutes remaining. Academia Albacete would pull away again with another triple from Román, although Bruno responded with another moments later. This was a continuous give and take, although the worst news for CB Cuenca was that it continued to give away.
Muñoz’s team tried with more heart than success in the final moments, with several triples that did not bear fruit. Time was running out and the clock was ticking in favor of an Academia Baloncesto that finally took the two points from Esperanza Calvo (57-68).
CB Cuenca thus remains in the last place in the standings, although it must be remembered that they have played two fewer games due to postponements. Next week there will be a break in the league, so they will return on November 9 to visit Baloncesto Criptana.
