Joventut trashes Trento on the road

Joventut Badalona enjoyed a sweet opener in the 7DAYS Eurocup by defeating Dolomiti Energia Trento 56-86 at BLM Group Arena on Tuesday. The guests managed to build a double-digit lead at the end of the second quarter to take the reins and never looked back thanks to an impressive defensive display that didn’t allow more than 20 points in any of the quarters. Ante Tomic led the winners and posted 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists for a PIR of 19. Vladimir Brodziansky and Joel Parra followed with 13 points and 5 rebounds apiece, while Simon Birgander contributed 12 and 7 in just 15 minutes. Jordan Caroline was the only player on the losing team able to reach double-digits in scoring with 12, to which he added 11 boards.

Both teams set a fast pace in offense, but neither the hosts nor the guests were efficient in shooting in the early going. As such, the score was tied 7-7 after 6 minutes. A three-point play by Joel Parra and a fastbreak layup by Vladimir Brodziansky put Joventut in front, 9-12, as Trento called for a timeout. Simon Birgander hit inside and Pau Ribas and Desonta Bradford swapped threes to close the first quarter with the visitors leading 14-17.

Even though Toto Forray made it a one-point game with a nice layup, a 0-7 run capped by a three by Ribas sparked a 16-24 edge for Joventut. Tomic completed a three-point play to extend it to 18-27, but Diego Flaccadori showed up to help his team resist. It wasn’t enough, though, as a triple by Brodziansky and a layup by Parra built a double-digit lead for the visitors 24-34, soon after. Pep Busquets joined, and Brodziansky beat the buzzer to send the game to halftime with Joventut comfortably in charge, 28-40.

Ribas buried his third triple right after the break as Birgander and Parra contributed a couple of buckets to dig it deeper, 28-47. Trento used a timeout to try to end the drought, but needed almost 4 minutes to score through a three-pointer converted by Caroline. Parra made it a 20-point margin, 31-51, off a nice assist by Tomic, as Trento was totally inoperative on offense. Tomic and Andres Feliz took over and combined for 11 points that made it 35-62 after three quarters.

Birgander continued punishing Trento with 5 points in a row that set a 30-point margin early in the fourth, 37-67, confirming that Joventut was not willing to relax. Despite the hosts managing to chain together a couple of buckets, the difference didn’t go down, as Brodziansky set a game-high 33-point margin, 49-82, with less than 3 minutes to go.

Defense prevails for Joventut

Joventut Badalona displayed an amazing defensive effort the whole game and allowed just 37 points in the first 30 minutes - and 56 at the end. The visitors kept Dolomiti Energia Trento under 20 points in all quarters, good enough to build a double-digit margin at halftime and increase it to a game-high 33 points, 49-82, late in the fourth quarter. The Joventut defense forced the home team to register its second-worst mark both in scoring and PIR ever in the EuroCup and limited its shooting to 32.7% (17 of 52) on two-pointers, 25% on three-pointers (5 of 20) and 46.7% on free throws (7 of 15).

Many efficient contributors

In addition to a superb efficiency on defense, Joventut Badalona also enjoyed a great contribution from several players on offense. All the players - except Zsombor Maronka - scored and many of them did it prolifically during the time they spent on the court. Ante Tomic had 13 in just 18 minutes, also adding 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Joel Parra and Vladimir Brodziansky posted 13 points and 5 rebounds each and both in only 19 minutes, while Simon Birgander dominated inside with 12 points and 7 boards in just 14 minutes on the floor. Despite not giving any of his 12 players more than 23 minutes of playing time, eight of them gave Joventut head coach Carles Duran double-digits in PIR.

Trento’s rookies tried

Even though Dolomiti Energia Trento was totally dominated from the very beginning, its 7DAYS EuroCup rookies never gave up and tried hard even when there was no doubt about the name of the winner. Desonta Bradford, Cameron Reynolds and Jordan Caroline were the best scorers of the Italian team, combining for more than a half of Trento’s 56 total points. Bradford chipped in 9 points, Reynolds had 8, and Caroline went for a double-double in his debut with 12 points and 11 rebounds, including 5 offensive boards. Caroline’s performance earned a 14 PIR, the best of his team on a tough night.