MoraBanc Andorra Drops Two, Extends Skid to Four in ACB

MoraBanc Andorra extended its losing streak to four games with a 79-87 ACB derby loss to Hiopos Lleida on Friday and a 99-92 defeat at Baskonia on Sunday. The team holds second-from-bottom position with a 4-10 record, one win ahead of Burgos, which claimed back-to-back triumphs over Gran Canaria and Granada. Andorra faces Real Madrid at the Toni Martí Pavilion this Sunday at 7pm, followed by Río Breogán the next weekend.

The derby at Andorra la Vella's Toni Martí Pavilion attracted 3,634 spectators, including 300 from Lleida. MoraBanc grabbed an early lead via Aaron Best and Stan Okoye's scoring, bolstered by Morris Udeze and Justin McKoy's defense. Kyle Kuric's 2+1 secured a 21-15 first-quarter edge. Lleida rallied in the second with Atoumane Diagne's free throws and György Golomán's inside work, taking a brief lead as Andorra shot 3/16 from three at halftime. Okoye's late triple kept Andorra ahead 37-34. The third quarter remained tight, featuring exchanges between Artem Pustovyi and James Batemon amid technical fouls on Melvin Ejim and coach Joan Plaza. An unsportsmanlike on Xavier Castañeda, who tallied 10 points with clutch threes, pulled Lleida to 61-64. Andorra held a 70-68 lead into the fourth on Pustovyi's free throws and Best's three, but Lleida finished strong with Caleb Agada's triple, Ejim's 2+1, and Golomán's baskets. Top scorers: Batemon 19, Golomán 15 for Lleida; Castañeda and Okoye 14 each, Kuric 13, Pustovyi 10 for Andorra. Partials: 21-15, 16-19, 24-30, 18-23. Referees: Rafael Serrano, Joaquín García, David Sánchez. Plaza cited Lleida's greater intensity and pace.

Sunday's matchup at Vitoria's Buesa Arena drew 9,823 fans. Baskonia, coached by Paolo Galbiati, overcame Andorra's third-quarter surge with late threes to secure the win. Andorra opened with a 0-5 lead on Okoye and Shannon Evans' threes. Baskonia countered through Chimezie Metu Simmons (19 points, 4/4 early threes), Timothée Luwawu-Cabarrot (19), Issa Diakite (15-16), and Amen Omoruyi, hitting 9/15 from three to lead 51-43 at halftime against Andorra's 3/14.

Andorra started the third with a 0-14 run, sparked by Best's threes, an unsportsmanlike on Plaza, and Pustovyi, flipping the score to 71-74. Kuric's triple sent Andorra ahead into the fourth. Leads swapped early on, with Kuric's three pushing Andorra to 81-82 and forcing a Baskonia timeout. Three consecutive Baskonia threes—Simmons and Marcus Howard (11)—fueled a 9-0 spurt to 90-82. Andorra rallied late, hitting 26/27 free throws, but Baskonia's 16-4 offensive rebound edge and Rodions Kurucs' finishes (11 points) sealed it. Andorra scorers: Evans 22 (24 in some tallies), Pustovyi 15, Kuric 14, Best 12, McKoy 9, Kostadinov 6, Udeze 7, Castañeda 2, Okoye 5; Ortega and Guerrero 0. Other Baskonia: Joksimovic 2, Radzevicius 8, Diop 4, Omoruyi 5, Spagnolo 2, Villar 1, Frisch 2. Partials: 30-20, 21-23, 20-31, 28-18. Referees: Emilio Pérez Pizarro, Alfonso Olivares, Guillermo Ríos. No ejections.

Plaza praised the effort against an EuroLeague opponent but hammered rebounding lapses: competing well comes second to basics like stopping 16 second-chance points, which he called "serious" and "unacceptable." He noted Andorra's best turnover performance yet, solid interior play, and fight despite three-point struggles and small errors. Best and McKoy, despite prior reports they might not play, contributed key minutes in the comeback.