Gran Canaria’s defense stepped up when it was needed most
Fourth quarter made the difference for Gran Canaria in Ulm
Article
3 Mins read
Dreamland Gran Canaria was in a dogfight with ratiopharm Ulm for the first three quarters before finally pulling away thanks to a strong defensive effort in the fourth quarter.
Gran Canaria held the number two offense in the league scoreless for 7:30 minutes in the final frame in putting together a 0-16 run to produce a 76-83 win over Ulm, which entered the game on a five-game winning streak.
“The last quarter we stepped up and made some good defensive plays. But at the same time, we made some important shots. That gave us the confidence to play and defend well. I think we did a good job in the fourth quarter defending the three-point line,” said Gran Canaria head coach Jaka Lakovic, whose team had lost its previous two games, scoring 65 and 64 points.
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Ulm was averaging 90.0 points per game and had scored 100+ points in its last three wins - 102, 114 and 104 points.
“We were not comfortable at all. But they found a way and I am proud of them,” Lakovic added.
Gran Canaria also kept Ulm to just 9-of-35 shooting on three-pointers (25.7%), which was 13.5% below the German side’s three-point shooting percentage coming into the game, the best team in the EuroCup.
The victory gives Gran Canaria the inside track for a top-two spot in Group A at 10-4 to Ulm’s 9-5 record - not to mention the tiebreaker advantage after its record-breaking 125-78 home win over Ulm in Round 5. Still Lakovic was quick to say there is a long road still to go with four rounds of games left.
“We deserved to win, it was an important win, but nothing is over. This is not the decisive game but it gives us confidence moving forward,” he said.
Gran Canaria was once again playing without two veteran leaders as John Shurna and Andrew Albicy both missed a second straight game. But it was the first EuroCup game for Gran Canaria for new acquisition Mehdy Ngouama. And the guard produced a strong game with 8 points including the dagger three-pointer with 105 seconds left to go with 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal and a big chasedown block.
“Mehdy came in with two practices and really had a great effort trying to adjust to the team, trying to understand what we want to do defensively and offensively. And at the same time, he gave us athleticism and verticality to the basket, being able to beat the first line of the defense. We are very happy about his effort,” Lakovic said of Ngouama, who won the EuroCup in 2024 with Paris Basketball and then played six games earlier this season with Cosea JL Bourg-en-Bresse.