Final surge lifts Real over Joventut

17 December 2007

MADRID – After 12 regular season games, Real Madrid basketball team beat ACB League leader DKV Joventut 65-71 on Saturday, lifting the capital team into a three-way tie with Joventut and AXA Barcelona, all three with 10 wins and two losses in the league.

With the game tied at 60-60 with five minutes left to play, Joventut, led by the 17-year-old prodigy Ricky Rubio and Rudy Fernández, managed to help the Catalan team to a three-point lead with only two minutes remaining.

However, the final minutes proved decisive for ACB champion Real, which outscored its competitor 0-9 in the final two minutes of play, topped off by ex-Joventut player Raúl López’s three-pointer. Real, in its final run, also capitalised on Fernández’s bad offensive decisions to come away victorious.

Across town Sunday, AXA Barcelona beat TAU Cerámica 89-85 at the buzzer to join the three-way leader’s circle.

Grizzlie surprise
Across the Atlantic, with Pau Gasol out injured, Spain’s Juan Carlos Navarro started for the Memphis Grizzlies, the guard leading his team to a 123-119 win over the Orlando Magic. Navarro’s 27 points and 7 for 13 shooting from the floor helped the NBA’s Grizzlies break a six-game losing streak.

Subject: Spanish news