Spar Girona falls with honor against a Fenerbahçe that is a world-class team

Fenerbahçe and its array of stars imposed their law in the first EuroLeague semifinal (76-59). They did not crush Spar Girona, as one might expect given the budget invested in a roster that is a world selection, and Roberto Íñiguez’s team fell with honor. Their opponent will come from the second clash, which will face tonight (8:30 p.m., Movistar+) Casademont Zaragoza, the host, against another Turkish team, Galatasaray.

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Spar Girona had a model start to the game with a lineup that, fresh, can challenge anyone, including one with Breanna Stewart, Gabby Williams, and Emma Meesseman. The Spanish team’s players insisted on looking for Mariam Coulibaly, one of the top five in the EuroLeague. The Malian center began by troubling Meesseman, which stimulated her teammates. Fenerbahçe could not handle the interior player no matter how many stars they had. The good basketball of Roberto Íñiguez’s team could, at least for 10 minutes, compete with Miguel Méndez’s millionaire roster, who saw Stewart, a woman with three Olympic golds, three WNBA titles, and three EuroLeagues, showing signs of having arrived at the team only to play these two Final 6 games.

The Spanish coach withdrew the superstar and brought back the fantastic lineup that has been a steamroller all season. Fenerbahçe regained control, and Girona hit a wall. Gabby Williams, perhaps the best defender in the world, was a watchdog making life impossible for Juste Jocyte, one of her team’s pillars, unable to score more than two baskets in the first half. Meesseman, increasingly in form, neutralized Coulibaly on defense, and on offense, with seemingly simple but devastating basketball, made the difference. Íñiguez’s team collapsed and took six minutes to score their first basket in a catastrophic second quarter in which they received a 14-0 run (26-17). Girona was gasping without Coulibaly’s contribution (32-22).

If the first quarter was one of hope, of starting to allow themselves to dream, the second was a slap against the reality of an overwhelming roster. Jocyte and Bibby need Coulibaly to attract attention in the paint to find open shots, and the African center needs the perimeter players to find space inside. Without that balance, Girona collapses as happened in a painful second quarter (25-10).

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Spar Girona straightened the semifinal somewhat in the third quarter and got within six points (44-38). The last gasp of a team used to scoring very easily and that this time felt strangled on offense and unlucky in some decisive refereeing decisions. Defensively they did a very good job, but the series slipped away with offensive errors. Méndez knew that against a Girona without Arica Carter or Marta Canella, injured, with Bibby depleted, it was enough to put all defensive efforts into containing Jocyte, the 20-year-old young forward who will play in the WNBA and Project B, and Coulibaly. The bravery of Ainhoa López and Carolina Guerrero was commendable but insufficient against the overwhelming quality of Fenerbahçe, which no longer gave an inch in its superiority. Meesseman is one game away from becoming the first player in history with seven EuroLeague titles. For now, she remains tied at six with Alba Torrens, Diana Taurasi, and Natalia Vieru.

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