MoraBanc Andorra Crushed 101-79 by Joventut, Relegation Fight Tightens

MoraBanc Andorra suffered a heavy 101-79 defeat to Joventut Badalona at the Pavelló Olímpic on Thursday evening, halting their brief run of two consecutive wins and intensifying their relegation battle with three games remaining in the ACB League.

The Andorrans started strongly, taking a 21-23 lead after the first quarter behind Artem Pustovyi's early dominance with the first six points for his side, facing his former team, and contributions from Yves Pons' triples and a late dunk by Kostas Kostadinov. However, a disastrous second quarter proved fatal, as Joventut unleashed a 30-17 run, including a 16-0 stretch featuring 2+1 plays from Yannick Kraag and Henri Drell. Ricky Rubio sparked the surge with outside shooting, later joined by Kristian Drejov and Ludvig Hakanson, pushing the gap to 49-29 at one point. MoraBanc clawed back late in the half with an 0-11 partial from Shannon Evans II, Stan Okoye and Pons, narrowing it to 51-40 at the break.

Kostadinov briefly left with an ankle twist but returned. The second half saw Andorra stay within 10 points for stretches, aided by a 3+1 from Kyle Kuric and efforts from Rafa Luz and Evans, reaching 75-65 after three quarters. Yet Joventut pulled away in the fourth, with Rubio adding to his 23 points and seven assists, Cameron Hunt scoring key baskets including seven straight, Adam Hanga's triple, and debut ACB points from Adrián Torres, sealing the 22-point win before 4,081 fans.

Joventut's scores: Rubio 23, Hunt 14, Kraag 11, Jabari Parker 13, Ruzic 10, Hakanson 10, Birgander 8, Drell 7, Hanga 3, Torres 2. MoraBanc: Pustovyi 14, Evans 11, Kuric 11, Pons 9, Rice 9, Kostadinov 8, Okoye 6, Luz 5, Best 2, Ortega 2, McKoy 2. Quarters: 21-23, 30-17, 24-25, 26-14. Officials: Antonio Conde, Jorge Martínez, Iyán González.

Coach Zan Tabak insisted the loss did not represent a setback. "We faced a superior team on a night with low accuracy," he said post-game, noting Joventut's playoff push. "It's a mix of our shooting issues and physical limitations in moments." He stressed focus on the next fixture: a home clash against San Pablo Burgos on Sunday at 19:00, after Burgos beat Unicaja. MoraBanc, with nine wins, now ties Zaragoza but trails on tiebreakers, while Burgos and Gran Canaria lurk one victory behind in the tight relegation fight.