2020-21Regular SeasonRound 31
March 26, 2021 CET: 19:00
Local time: 19:00 BUESA ARENA

Baskonia keeps chasing playoffs spot

TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz kept feeding its Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs hopes by downing AX Armani Exchange Milan 86-69 at Buesa Arena on Friday. Baskonia improved to 17-14 after recording its eighth win in the last nine games. Meanwhile, Milan dropped to 19-12 with its second consecutive loss. Pierria Henry led the winners with 19 points. Achille Polonara added 17 and 13 rebounds, Zoran Dragic had 15 points while Rokas Giedraitis got 14 for Baskonia. Kevin Punter led Milan with 13 points. Sergio Rodriguez added 12 while Luigi Datome, Shavon Shields and Jeff Brooks each had 10 for the guests. Rodriguez and Michael Roll helped Milan take a 10-16 lead after 10 minutes. Baskonia found a go-to guy in Dragic, who helped the hosts regain a 33-32 edge at halftime. Henry dominated the game after the break, getting help from Giedraitis and Polonara to boost the hosts' lead to 60-45 after 30 minutes. Baskonia made it a 20-point game, 76-56, and never looked back.

Youssoupha Fall and Polonara got Baskonia going but Rodriguez struck twice from downtown and fed Zach LeDay for an alley-oop slam, good for a 4-8 Milan lead. Brooks banked in a close shot, Roll erased Ilimane Diop's layup with a jumper, and Kyle Hines dunked to boost the guests' lead to 6-14. Dragic scored off a steal and Polonara hit a jumper to bring Baskonia within 10-16 after 10 minutes. Dragic and Henry combined for all points in a 6-0 run that tied it at 16-16. Dragic bettered Rodriguez's jumper with a bomb from beyond the arc to put Baskonia ahead 19-18. Luigi Datome buried a three-pointer but Dragic and Tadas Sedekerskis fueled a 7-0 run highlighted by Polonara's acrobatic basket. Brooks hit a turnaround jumper and added a couple of triples, getting help from Punter to restore a 30-32 Milan lead. Giedraitis stepped up with a three-point play for a 33-32 Baskonia edge at halftime. Henry followed a jumper with a three-pointer to boost the hosts' lead to 39-32 right after the break. Fall capped an 11-0 run with a jump hook before Rodriguez rescued Milan with a jumper. Punter took over with a four-point play but Henry downed consecutive jumpers and fed Dragic for a layup that restored a 47-38 Baskonia margin. Giedraitis scored in the paint but Punter and Datome fueled a 0-7 run to bring Milan closer, 49-45. Polonara, Alec Peters and Giedraitis each struck from beyond the arc in an 11-0 run that broke the game open, 60-45, after 30 minutes. Shields followed a jumper with a layup early in the fourth quarter. Polonara and Kaleb Tarczewski traded layups and Dragic made it a 13-point game, 64-51, with over 6 minutes left. Rodriguez answered with a driving layup, then Giedraitis and Shields traded triples for a 68-56 score. Polonara kept pacing Baskonia with a tip-in and Sedekerskis sealed the outcome with a fast break slam, 72-56, as Milan did not recover in the final 4 minutes.

Pivotal performer

Achille Polonara was all over the place, especially under the boards, setting new personal-best marks in defensive (10) and total rebounds (13). He also had 17 points, 4 assists, a steal and a block for a PIR of 28, matching his career-high.

Game-changing moment

Milan led 30-32 shortly before the break but Baskonia took off after that. Rokas Giedraitis stepped up with a three-point play and Pierria Henry had 6 points in an 11-0 run that Youssoupha Fall capped with a jump hook. Baskonia took a 41-32 lead and managed it well since that moment.

Stellar stat

Baskonia hit 1-of-15 three-point shots (6.7%) in the first half. It buried 8-of-14 shots from downtown (57.2%) after the break, and that made the difference in the game. Baskonia also outrebounded Milan by 42-30.

Did you know?

Baskonia has won its two games against Milan for the first time since the 2012-13 season. Back then, Baskonia beat Milan 85-95 at Mediolanum Forum and 64-62 at Buesa Arena on a go-ahead layup by Thomas Heurtel with 5 seconds left.

Next game

Both teams return to Turkish Airlines EuroLeague action week Tuesday, March 30. Baskonia visits Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, one of coach Dusko Ivanovic's former teams while Milan stays on the road against Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade as Kevin Punter, who played for Zvezda last season, returns to the Serbian capital.

Rokas Giedraitis - TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz - EB20
Friday, March 26, 2021
Euroleague.net
Referees: BOLTAUZER, MATEJ; MOGULKOC, EMIN; SILVA, SERGIO
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz10232726
AX Armani Exchange Milan16161324
End of Quarter1234
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz10336086
AX Armani Exchange Milan16324569
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 RAIESTE, SANDER DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3 VILDOZA, LUCA 18:14 3 0/1 1/4     1 1 2 1 1     1 1 2
7 HENRY, PIERRIA 24:16 19 5/6 2/3 3/4 1 4 5 6   3     2 4 26
8 SEDEKERSKIS, TADAS 28:10 9 3/3 0/1 3/4 1 2 3 2 2   3   1 2 18
12 DIOP, ILIMANE 4:51 2 1/2 0/1           1 1     1   -1
19 FALL, YOUSSOUPHA 12:11 4 2/4     1 3 4     3     1 1 3
25 PETERS, ALEC 14:42 3 0/1 1/3   1 4 5   1 1   1 3   1
30 DRAGIC, ZORAN 24:20 15 6/7 1/5   1 1 2 1 1     1 2 1 12
31 GIEDRAITIS, ROKAS 34:33 14 3/6 2/6 2/2 1 6 7 3 2   2     3 24
33 POLONARA, ACHILLE 38:43 17 4/7 2/6 3/4 3 10 13 4 1 1   1 1 4 28
47 KURUCS, ARTURS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team           1 1 2     2          
Totals 200:00 86 24/37 9/29 11/14 10 32 42 18 9 12 5 3 12 16 113
        64.9% 31% 78.6%
Head coach: IVANOVIC, DUSKO
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
AX Armani Exchange Milan
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 PUNTER, KEVIN 24:43 13 2/6 2/4 3/3 1 1 2   1 1   2 2 5 10
2 LEDAY, ZACH 19:32 2 1/5       2 2             2 2
5 MICOV, VLADIMIR 4:53           1 1 1   1         1
9 MORASCHINI, RICCARDO 1:22                              
10 ROLL, MICHAEL 16:02 8 3/3 0/2 2/2       3   1     4 1 5
13 RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO 23:16 12 3/3 2/9     1 1 4 2 3     2   7
15 TARCZEWSKI, KALEB 12:24 2 1/3   0/2 2 4 6           4 2 2
19 BILIGHA, PAUL DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
31 SHIELDS, SHAVON 29:22 10 2/7 2/6     2 2   1 1   1 2 1 1
32 BROOKS, JEFF 24:47 10 2/3 2/3   2 5 7 2   1 2 1 1   16
42 HINES, KYLE 18:34 2 1/4     2 1 3 2 2 2 1 1 2   2
70 DATOME, LUIGI 25:05 10 2/5 2/4     3 3 1           1 10
Team           1 2 3     2         1
Totals 200:00 69 17/39 10/28 5/7 8 22 30 13 6 12 3 5 17 12 57
        43.6% 35.7% 71.4%
Head coach: MESSINA, ETTORE

Head Coaches

IVANOVIC, DUSKO
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
"I believe that, knowing the importance of the game, we knew we had to play good defense against a team that, lately, was playing very well even without Delaney. They got easy wins in Moscow and Kaunas, and it all depended on playing good defense. We had to look for our fast game. In the first 20 minutes, we didn't do it, but we did in the last 20 minutes and this made the difference. I am afraid we have to do better if we want to be in the playoffs. We have to do better. We never looked to others and never got help from anyone. We have to think that if we win all the games, we can be in the playoffs, and we are going to go game by game. The next game is important for us. We have to think about that and believe that we depend on our own scores, and then we will see. Henry gives us a boost, always. Above all, he gives us extra speed. Today, he was fast and was also inspired to score, to take a 10-point lead that we managed really well."
MESSINA, ETTORE
AX Armani Exchange Milan
"Congratulations to Baskonia and to Dusko (Ivanovic). They played a very good game after a tough first quarter. I think their intensity on both ends, defensively and offensively, decided the game. We were not even close. They deserved to win and we were not at the level required. Simple as that. Without looking for excuses, we are in a little bit of a low moment physically. All these players arrived in Milan on July 15 to do the quarantine, and we played our first official game in the Italia SuperCup, our first must-win game, on August 26. It was more than seven months ago, playing two or three games per week, in competitions you cannot really lose like the league, the cup and the EuroLeague. Now we are in a bad moment, and we have to be patient and see how we close the first part of the EuroLeague. You saw things that are not what this team does: mistakes and lack of spark. People expect that teams always play well for 10 months but we are in a bad moment now. We will try to bounce back together because it is not going to be easy. We didn't play a good game, but you cannot take credit away from Baskonia."

Players

POLONARA, ACHILLE
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
"Everybody is fighting. Everybody wants to play the playoffs, so we need to fight for three more games. I can play another game! We are ready for another game."
HENRY, PIERRIA
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
"It was a great 40 minutes in my eyes. The team fought hard. We executed our game plan and believed in one another. In every possession, you have to give all you got. And you better believe. Every last one of my teammates is going to sacrifice his body and push until exhaustion. I just love my teammtes, and for that you have to respect them. Hard work paid off."
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