The last ticket for the Euroleague playoffs was taken by Baskonia, which defeated Virtus (89:77) last night in the "Fernanda Buesa Arena" and scheduled a quarter-final clash with Real Madrid (first meeting on Tuesday in Madrid).
Without the injured Chima Moneke, Baskonia gained a convincing advantage in the third quarter, which it kept until the end of the game. And the triumph came on the wings of the unreal Marcus Howard, who finished the match with 28 points (1/7 for two, 8/19 for three).
"We are happy for our fans, they deserved this. But we have to continue playing at a high level. We have a lot to look forward to," were Howard's first impressions after the game.
Matt Costello and captain Tadas Sedekerskis had great merits. Costello had 19 points and five rebounds, and Sedekerskis had 16 points and seven rebounds. And Cody Miller-McIntyre played another good match - he had eight points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
"I feel good, this is a great result. We deserved to be in the playoffs. The boys played well, patiently, believed, fought... We don't have time to celebrate, because we're already playing on Sunday. It's normal for us - yes we play every other day. I hope we will have time to rest and prepare for the next game," said coach Dusko Ivanovic.
Baskonia qualified for the Euroleague playoffs for the first time since the 2018/2019 season. The Spanish team now faces a fight for the playoffs of the Endesa League, and in the next round, tomorrow, it will host Unikahi. Ivanovic's team is in ninth place with a score of 16-13 and has one victory less than Manresa, which is in eighth place, and leads to the playoffs.
"I congratulate Baskonia - the players, the coach, the club... They played a great game. But I also congratulate my players. We had the opportunity to play this game after a long season. We proved that we can play on any field, against all teams. Let others judge whether we deserved to reach the quarterfinals," said Virtus coach Luka Banki.
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