Marc Gasol plays through injury to gift Girona a ticket to Liga Endesa / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Federacion Espanola de Baloncesto Credit Federacion Espanola de Baloncesto

Marc Gasol played through a knee injury to gift his hometown team Basquet Girona a ticket to the Spanish Liga Endesa by defeating Movistar Estudiantes 66-60 (19-14, 15-16, 24-17, 8-13).

Gasol was the main man on the team, scoring 11 points, grabbing 6 rebounds, collecting 4 steals, and 2 blocks for 26 PIR points.

Estudiantes started the game on a better note but Girona pushed back and gained an early 19-14 lead after the first quarter.

Led by former Zalgiris Kaunas player Kaspars Vecvagars, Girona continued to be on top. Two Vecvagars' three-pointers in consecutive possessions were followed by a two-pointer by Karamo Jawara and the away team took a 10-point lead in the second quarter.

Estudiantes fought back, and the teams were separated by only 4 points heading into the locker rooms after the first half.

The distance between the teams remained largely the same until Girona mounted a quick 9-2 run in the third quarter to establish the upper hand once again (49-37).

Estudiantes were not ready to give up though. The club started the final quarter with an 11-2 run, and the teams were now separated by only 2 points with 3 minutes left to play. However, Marc Gasol scored a clutch basket to push the lead to six (64-58), and it was too much for the team from Madrid.

Maximo Hugo Fjellerup was the top scorer on Girona's team with 19 points on 8-for-19 shooting. Kaspars Vecvagars added 13 points and had the best plus-minus rating on the team with 10.

Javier Beiran Amigo led Estudiantes with 13 points, 12 rebounds, and 16 PIR points.

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