DKV Joventut Badalona used a fourth-quarter rally to outlast Union Olimpija 67-69

DKV Joventut Badalona used a fourth-quarter rally to outlast Union Olimpija 67-69 in a thriller in Ljubljana, Slovenia on Thursday night. Marko Milic punished Joventut's defense for three quarters, but after that, a 0-8 run to start the last period allowed the visitors to jump ahead for good. The win saw Joventut improve its Group B record to 4-3, good for a share of second place. Olimpija fell to 1-6 and remains in last place. Rudy Fernandez led the winners with 17 points, while Robert Archibald added 9 points and 10 rebounds. Milic increased his career-high for the second straight games, posting 24 points and 15 rebounds, while Manuchar Markoishvili added 12.

The game started with Fernandez crossing the court for a big dunk, but Milic replied to make it 2-2. Fernandez blasted 5 points, including a three to make it 2-7, but Domen Lorbek also drilled a bomb from downtown and Teemu Rannikko did the same to put Olimpija ahead for the first time, 8-7. The hosts dominated the offensive glass and tied the score at 10-10. Milic scored 8 of his own to launch Olimpija, before Elmer Bennett replied with a three, 18-13. A technical foul on Charles Gaines gave Olimpija an extra edge, but Drew Sullivan was smart and stole a ball for a last basket that left it 24-17 after 10 minutes.

Ender Arslan opened the second quarter with a three, and soon added another basket to maintain Olimpija's lead. Joventut tried to trim the deficit, looking for options inside, as Archibald went scored 4 straight points to make it 29-23. Ivica Jurkovic stopped the bleeding for Olimpija, but Archibald remained active in the paint for Joventut. The patience of Olimpija allowed the hosts to pull away to 35-26 on Jurkovic's easy layup. Fernandez scored a jumper, but slipped as he landed and had to go to the bench with an injury. Milic's 10th rebound resulted in 2 more points, but Ricky Rubio fed Dmitry Flis underneath to get Joventut within 37-31. However, Markoishvili had time for two free throws at the end of the first half to make it 39-31 at the break for Olimpija.

Paco Vazquez blasted a three and Sullivan added a basket to bring Badalona within 3 at the start of the second half. Hasan Rizvic scored for Olimpija to get the hosts going, but Sullivan was back from the locker room and scoring . The Joventut defense forced Olimpija to run long plays, and on the other side, Ferran Laviña hit the bottom of the net with a three to get the visitors to 43-41. However Milic's reply brought him up to 18 points. Fernandez was back on the court and that gave a morale injection to Joventut, as did Rannikko's fourth foul in the 27th minute. Gaines made it a one-point game from the line, 45-44, as Joventut performed better on the defensive glass and Fernandez posted a three to tie the game again. Two free throws by Vazquez and a triple at the buzzer by Fernandez allowed Joventut to jump ahead after 30 minutes, 50-52.

Laviña, Archibald and Rubio combined for a 0-6 Joventut spurt as Milic went to the bench with foul trouble, giving the visitors their biggest lead, 50-58. Olimpija had trouble scoring from outside and Joventut's defense came through with some steals as Fernandez fed Gaines for an alley-oop that gave the guests a double-digit lead. Olimpija needed 4 minutes and 20 seconds to score its first basket in the last period through Lorbek, and Milic soon added another, but then committed an unsportsmanlike foul over Gaines. However, a three-point play by Rizvic made it 57-61 and Milic grabbed a defensive rebound and crossed the court to make it 59-61 with three minutes to go. Rubio turned the ball over after Joventut's timeout, and Lorbek hit two free throws to tie the game at 61-61. Fernandez was Joventut's savior again and Rubio added two free throws with 90 seconds to go, 61-65. Markoishvili had a basket-plus-foul situation for 64-65, but on the next play, Milic fouled out and Gaines had free throws with 33 seconds to go. Gaines hit both attempts making it a three-point game. Arslan missed two triples on the other end and Rubio finished off the game with two more free throws that made Markoishvili's last triple for protocol only.