By Eurohoops Team/ [email protected]
Surviving an electric Santiago Martin, Unicaja beat La Laguna Tenerife, 91-78, on Thursday.
Ibon Navarro’s side improved to 20-10 in Spain’s Liga Endesa Regular Season, limiting the hosts to 23-7 and increasing the advantage of leader Real Madrid over second-placed Tenerife to 2.5 games.
Kendrick Perry scored 11 of his 21 points in the third quarter, pushing his side to a double-digit cushion. The 32-year-old guard hit 5/10 out of a team total of 13/28 three-pointers. Tyson Perez followed with 16 points behind 7/9 from the field and also grabbed five rebounds. On the wrong end, Giorgi Shermadini fell one point shy of his season-high with 23 points.
For the team coached by Txus Vidorreta, Joan Sastre was ruled out alongside injured Fran Guerra. Kameron Taylor and Nihad Djedovic were left out of the lineup by the visitors, and Melvin Ejim suited up but stayed on the bench.
The rest of Round 31 will be played May 10 and 11, while Tenerife and Unicaja will be in Athens competing in the Final Four of the 2024-25 edition of the Basketball Champions League.
ACB Round 31
La Laguna Tenerife – Unicaja 78-91
Joventut Badalona – Baskonia (10/5)
MoraBanc Andorra – Girona (10/5)
Valencia – Dreamland Gran Canaria (10/5)
Surne Bilbao – Leyma Coruna (11/5)
Casademont Zaragoza – Coviran Granada (11/5)
FC Barcelona – Hiopos Lleida (11/5)
UCAM Murcia – BAXI Manresa (11/5)
Rio Breogan – Real Madrid (11/5)
STANDINGS: Real Madrid 25-4, La Laguna Tenerife 23-7, Valencia 21-8, Unicaja 20-10, FC Barcelona 18-11…
Photo Credit: FIBA