Andorra overpowers Rishon
MoraBanc Andorra beat Maccabi Rishon Lezion 84-61 in a game that meant little for already-eliminated Rishon, but saw Andorra increase its chances of moving up the table and taking a top spot in the group with one round remaining in the regular season. Rishon kept it close early, but midway through the second quarter, Andorra increased the intensity, exploded into the lead and never looked back. Dejan Musli led the winners with 15 points, Dejan Todorovic scored 14, Frantz Massenat and Nacho Llovet each scored 12 and Jeremy Senglin 11. Rishon’s top performers were Frederic Bourdillon, who scored 16 with 5 three-pointers, while James Kelly added 12 points and both Alex Hamilton and Johnathan Williams 11.
Rishon started 0-4 with Hamilton doing all the scoring. Bourdillon hit a three and landed a free throw to make it 5-10 after a lively opening. Andorra came back and it was all square at 12-12 thanks to a Musli finish. The hosts took the lead 14-12 midway through the first quarter and Bourdillon responded with a three as Rishon regained the lead. A late Williams free throw leveled the score at 20-20 after 10 minutes. The two sides couldn’t be separated early in the second either, but Daniel Clark hit a three to make it 25-22. Andorra made it 31-24, but Adam Ariel hit a three to reduce it at 31-27. Massenat his another three as Andorra increased the lead to 36-30. Massenat was at it again with another three and Andorra moved into another gear to lead 45-30 at half-time.
Andorra came out strong in the third too with threes from Clevin Hannah and David Walker to push the margin to 51-30. Rishon stayed in touch with Bourdillon hitting another couple of threes to get within 55-40. Senglin got into double digits with a long two and Andorra led 62-44. Guillem Colom extended it again with a three to make it 70-46 late in the third as it became increasingly difficult for Rishon to get anything going offensively. The home side led 70-49 after the third quarter. The final quarter was just a matter of Andorra remaining in front. They managed that early with a Todorovic three to make it 75-52. Hamilton continued to show signs of life with his fourth steal and finish to make it 75-56. Bourdillon drained a three, his fifth, to make it 75-59. Andorra cruised after that to clinch the victory.
Andorra worked the boards
Andorra’s previous record for rebounds was 41 set in October of this year. They beat that number with 44 on Wednesday night against Rishon. Todorovic led the way with 10, Massenat had 8, Musli 7 and Llovet 6.
Pivotal performer
Todorovic did it all on Wednesday night. He led Andorra with 15 points. Todorovic also had 10 rebounds and chipped in with 5 assists, too.
Next game
Andorra will travel to Promitheas Patras with a chance to finish first on the line on Tuesday, December 17. Rishon wraps up its EuroCup season against ratiopharm Ulm the following evening.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Eurocupbasketball.com