San Pablo remains intractable

San Pablo de Burgos did not allow themselves to be surprised in the Castilian derby and scored their third consecutive victory in a very intense duel that was not decided until the last minutes of the last quarter. Palencia Baloncesto stood up and even got within one point in the final stretch, but their strength failed and their mistakes condemned them.San Pablo de Burgos did not allow themselves to be surprised in the Castilian derby and scored their third consecutive victory in a very intense duel that was not decided until the last minutes of the last quarter. Palencia Baloncesto stood up and even got within one point in the final stretch, but their strength failed and their mistakes condemned them.

Palencia Baloncesto could not add in Burgos. It was the first defeat of the season against a tough rival and contender like Luis Guil’s team for promotion to the ACB. It was a very intense duel in which the celestials -yesterday- stood up until the last moments where they maintained their options.

The game began with a triple by Cremo, which indicated Burgos’ intentions. However, Palencia quickly put on their overalls and started scoring. Thus, Wintering gave his team the first lead (5-6). However, San Pablo quickly took control and with a run of 12-3 they began to make the first important differences, coinciding with a triple from Cremo. Luis Guil had no choice but to request his first timeout with just over four minutes remaining in the first quarter. And his team had completely lost its way. The Icelandic Gudmundsson and the American Cremo were being a real headache for the visiting defense. The Nordic scored three triples in a row. At the end of the first ten minutes, the scoreboard showed 24-13.

Already in the second quarter, Miha scored the first two points of the period (26-13). Palencia Baloncesto continued without being able to react and the distances were maintained (32-20). At 34-24, the local coach called a timeout. There were 4’10” left for the break. Bruno Costa did not see it clearly, since his rival had re-entered the game by improving his performance in defense, but also in attack. But it was not enough to further reduce the disadvantage he had. He had not finished solving a difficult task that lay ahead of him. It was a more even duel than the score seemed. The difference was in the percentages in the triples, very favorable to San Pablo de Burgos. Despite this, Palencia Baloncesto had improved. At halftime, the score was 43-34.

After going through the locker room, Palencia Baloncesto got off to a good start and six consecutive points from Tobias Borg – a triple – and Wintering put the score at 47-42. They even got within four points (48-44). The visitors did not end up maintaining their good play, and San Pablo de Burgos took advantage of that to distance themselves again, thanks to a run of 6-2 (53-44). It was 53-46 in the 25th minute, coinciding with a basket by Krutwig. An exchange of baskets between the two teams began (57-50). Cremo was being a real headache for the Palencia team, while the American Krutwing was being the top scorer for the light blue team. Argentine guard Gonzalo Corbalán, with a triple, made it 63-51 at the end of the third quarter. The partial in this period was 20-17.

The match was not decided, but the advantage of Bruno Costa’s team was important. A partial start of 5-11 kept Palencia Baloncesto afloat (68-62) with very dynamic basketball. And an unsportsmanlike and a triple from the Bulgarian Dimitrov made Luis Gil’s team fly. Krutwing and a triple from Xavi Oroz brought his team even closer (68-67). However, the response was not long in coming with a spectacular Gudmundsson with a triple plus two free throws (72-67). The Congolese Wembi joined the party (75-67). Guil stopped the game with four minutes left. Palencia Baloncesto broke down and continued to concede points. Gudmundsson broke the game again with a new triple (78-67.

A 2+1 by the American guard Adam Kukel gave life (80-72) with just over two minutes left in an intense duel between promotion contenders. A foul in attack by Wintering ended up hindering all of Palencia Baloncesto’s options.

The partial was 16-5 (84-72) since the light blue team had gotten within one point. Guil’s new timeout to speed up his team’s options. Vaulet scored a triple (84-75). It wasn’t enough. At the end of forty minutes, the score was 88-77. Victory of San Pablo de Burgos in a great Castilian duel.