Bilbao takes 76ers to the wire
Bilbao Basket took part in the NBA Global Games Europe as they hosted the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday in a pre-season friendly. German Gabriel knocked down three free throws with 6.3 seconds remaining to pull the Spanish side even with the 76ers at 104, only to have Spencer Hawes get fouled and drop a pair of singles moments later to give the visitors the lead. Bilbao got an opportunity for a last-second shot, but Raul Lopez’s triple attempt at the top of the key came up short and the NBA club escaped with the win.
On Saturday Fenerbahce Ulker hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder and fell 95:82 with Kevin Durant tallying 24 points and 8 rebounds for the Thunder, and Bojan Bogdanovic scoring 19 for Fenerbahce.
Philadelphia got the early lead with a 6:0 run to put them up 13:6, and then a nine for 10 string of free throws helped extend the lead even further. Bilbao closed the gap late in the frame, but gave up the last five to the NBA club to finish scoring in the first quarter with the 76ers up 27:20.
Philly extended their lead in the second by as much as 13 before Bilbao countered and cut their deficit by two, 55:50, as the clubs headed into the mid-game break.
The third frame saw Bilbao take the lead and hold on to it for the better part of the quarter, with Philadelphia hanging on to stay close, but Bilbao owned the third frame and the lead heading into the fourth, 80:79.
The clubs battled back and forth to open the final 12 minutes, and then Bilbao put together a run to get a lead and some breathing room with a 93:88 advantage. Philly tied things up at 95, then went ahead 99:95 with four minutes to play. They got another five unanswered to get up 104:95 with under two minutes to play. Bilbao got the next six, then Gabriel was fouled in the act of shooting a three giving him three singles, which he connected on to knot the score at 104. Hawes was fouled immediately and sent to the line, where he dropped in two singles to put Philadelphia up 106:104 with 4.8 seconds to play. Bilbao had plenty of time for a shot if they executed the play right, which they did, getting Lopez open for a three-ball at the top of the key, but he came up short giving the 76ers the pre-season win.
