Akasvayu Girona got its first ULEB Cup win of the season by blasting BC Hemofarm Stada at home by a clear 87-61. Great team play in the first half allowed the hosts to pull away by 51-34 at the break and they never looked back. Akasvayu is now 1-1 in Group C with the same record as Hemofarm. Jackson Vroman was the best scorer for the winners with his 17 points, Predrag Drobnjak added 15 and Arriel McDonald posted 10. For Hemofarm, Vladan Vukosavljevic led the way with 18 points, Goran Jagodnik netted 11 and Nebojsa Joksimovic tallied 10.


Arriel McDonald and Marc Gasol combined for 9 points in the first minutes to launch Akasvayu to a 13-7 lead as Goran Jagodnik had 6 of those points for Hemofarm without a miss. The hosts kept building their lead slow but steady as Jackson Vroman rocketed to 7 points for him when the scoreboard showed a 20-11. A three-point play by Dragan Vukosavljevic seemed to inject some life to Hemofarm for a 27-14 to put an end to the first quarter. Victor Sada and Branko Cvetkovic opened the second period for Akasvayu but Vukosavljevic repeated a three-point play to revive Hemofarm up to a 32-25, but then a 7-0 run of the hosts capped by Vroman put things back in place with a 39-25. The 12 assists of Akasvayu against the 2 for Hemofarm were a clear sign that the 51-34 score at the break didn't happen by chance. In the second half, Girona dominated with no worries as with a 64-42, the last minutes of the third quarter went by with Hemofarm posting no real threat to the hosts. With a 68-46 score after 30 minutes, the last quarter was only a walk in the park for the hosts who only had to maintain the gap despite the efforts of Vukosavljevic and Joksimovic, who saw how Akasvayu got their first win of the season in their debut at home.

Akasvayu Girona head coach Pedro Martinez

"We've shown our superiority with good defense and stealing balls. It's a good victory, which permits us to continue our way in this competition. The work of all the players has been very positive to achieve this victory. We expected more difficulties; Hemofarm is better than what they have shown today, and for sure we are going to be able to see that during the rest of the competition."

Akasvayu Girona center Predrag Drobjnak

"It has been a game that, despite the difference in the result, has not been easy. This victory has to encourage us to keep playing this way and try to achieve our objectives in this competition."

BC Hemofarm Strada head coach Miroslav Nikolic

"Girona has won the game and we congratulate them. We have a player from 1988 who measures 2.21, but he couldn't play due to physical problems. We are a team with plenty of young players and we want to give them minutes to play, with a couple of veteran players in the team whom we hope the young ones can learn from. It's a lesson for them to see 40-year-old players running more than them. The basket we played tonight is not the kind we want."

BC Hemofarm Strada forward Boris Savovic

"We had a bad start in the first quarter. We didn't achieve what we were supposed to. The global idea of our defense wasn't a good one. Akasvayu played all the time with intensity and we were always one step behind."