Bizkaia Bilbao (November 13, 2011) Game Recap

We finally got a win! Man you can say all the right things and try to keep it as positive as you want to but the bottom line is losing sucks and winning is an awesome feeling. We have had a tough little stretch of losses lately and winning this game does not mean that all of our problems are solved. But what this game does mean is that we have something to build on and we are going to continue to come to play hard every night regardless of the outcome of the last game.

Today’s game was an amazing team effort. Every player on the team made huge plays at the right time for us and it was really a lot of fun to watch and be a part of. Javier Beiran made a huge 3 and had 9 huge rebounds. Xavi Rey came in with a ton of energy and made a huge steal and score in our press that got the crowd fired up. Roman Martinez hit 2 huge 3 pts shots in the 2nd half that gave us a lot of breathing room to close the game. I was really fired up out there, the crowd was going wild, it was just a great atmosphere in there tonight.

The key to our team success will always be the defensive end of the floor. That is our staple and that is our identity. We want to make it tough on the opposing team. However, I believe our improved offensive effort allowed us to put the game out of reach. Our coaches made some adjustments to our offense that I believe make us a little tougher to guard and also we are beginning to learn each other better so the chemistry is starting to show. We did a good job pushing the ball up the floor and looking for opportunities early because that is usually when there are holes in any defense. I like the pace we played with tonight.

One thing I did not like is that Bilbao showed us tonight that we have to play more physical. They are a really physical and intense team and it showed because they had 12 offensive rebounds against us. That is too many. We have to be tougher and clean up those rebounds to be a consistently good team. Also, we have to learn to close games better. We had a 15 pt lead at some point in the 4th quarter and we let them get it down to only 3. We gave up some lay ups and missed some key free throws to seal the game. That is a learning experience for us as we have not played with very many leads in the 4th quarter thus far.

Individually I feel like i did my job. Not an amazing night but I did what i was supposed to in order to get the win. I did a good job of attacking the rim and drawing fouls tonight. Drawing fouls is something that makes the game a lot easier for me so i am always pleased when I am able to do that. I also was solid shooting from midrange today. More importantly, I did a pretty good job sticking to my defensive assignment and making it tough to get good looks for their guards. I still have to get my 3 pointer to fall more consistently but that will come in time. I also have to do a better job at the free throw line. Overall I am just happy that we got the win. I’ll take those any way I can get them!

Gran Canaria – Bizkaia Bilbao  (77-71)

My Team	Mins	Pts	Ast	Reb	FG	3PT	FT
	25	15	2	1	5-10	0-4	5-8

As usual here are the links to the complete box score and live game highlights from today’s game vs. Bilbao.