Spahija on Baldwin IV: 'He is talented, but he needs to trust himself' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix Credit ZUMAPRESS.com - Scanpix

Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz managed to pull out the victory at home against the reigning champions Anadolu Efes Istanbul after a stunning second half.

Player of the Game EFF 31 Wade Baldwin Points 20 Accuracy 8-11 Rebounds 4 Assists 11

It was the 300th win for Baskonia in the EuroLeague. An adrenaline shot after several weeks with tough losses. Actually, it was their first European win in2022.

More than 6.000 people were delighted with their team in the Buesa Arena.

Neven Spahija could not hide his satisfaction in the post-game conference.

"I want to congratulate the team. Again it was not our best first half, but we were outstanding in the second. Our defense was highly better, and we made important shots," he began.

"We are not losing so many rebounds. We are showing our work at practices in the last two weeks. The team is improving. It is clear," added Spahija.

Wade Baldwin IV was dominant. The American combo guard made a double-double, scoring 20 points and dishing 11 assists, just one away from his career-high.

"He is so good. I know what he is capable of and how talented he is. He just needs to be calm and trust himself," assured the Croatian coach.

If Baldwin IV shined, Sander Raieste was the decisive factor in the last quarter. The Estonian scored all his 11 points in the last minutes, including a perfect 3/3 from beyond the arc.

"We do not have a deep roster, and some players are young, so we need to be patient. When we all are together, some things can happen, as with Raieste tonight. He played perfectly," Spahija praised the 21-year-old youngster.

On the other half, Efes' head coach Ergin Ataman had a clear vision of what have happened in the game.

"Until the middle of the third quarter, we controlled the game well. But after that, Baldwin IV started to attack in the pick and roll. He found his rhythm. He found shooters. There were extra shooters like Raieste. Congratulations to Baldwin, he played great," said the Turkish coach.

Ataman praised Fontecchio's defense on Micic before pointing out some other keys.

"They broke our defense with fast-break points. We lacked some extra points. Bryant did not score in 18 minutes, Beaubois missed some open shots… And Pleiss, our main center, was having foul trouble," he concluded.

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