Bilbao Basket conquers the Coliseum Tournament with an epic comeback

Surne Bilbao Basket completed an epic comeback to win the I Coliseum Tournament. The final against Leyma Básquet Coruña in Burgos provided a lesson in competitive spirit: the team from Biscay was struggling for thirty minutes, but their response after the break was emphatic. The final score of 90-96 summarizes a tactical and mental transformation that allowed Ponsarnau's team to claim the title in their first official match of the preseason.

Coruña dominates the first act

Leyma arrived in Burgos with purpose and demonstrated it from the first ball. Carles Marco's team controlled the pace with ease. Lukas Uleckas was the catalyst for the good play of Coruña in the first quarter, where the Galicians established a 23-16 run that reflected their initial superiority. The second period did not change the script: both teams exchanged baskets without either able to pull away decisively. At the close of the first half, the 30-28 in favor of Leyma confirmed that Coruña was heading into halftime with a lead, albeit a narrow one.

George Conditt IV was the key piece in Leyma's inside game during that first thirty minutes. The center accumulated 12 points by halftime, his highest scoring in the first thirty minutes, allowing him to contain the responses from Harald Frey and Martin Krampelj, both with 10 points for Bilbao. The nine-point lead that Leyma took to the locker room seemed solid, but it hid the reality of a Bilbao team that had barely shown their true offensive capabilities.

Bilbao's reaction transforms the final

The restart was an absolute turning point. Bilbao came out with a different tactical aggressiveness, pressing on defense and accelerating on offense. The third quarter was a Bilbao monologue: they won that period 17-26 and completely neutralized the lead. The 70-70 at the end of the first three quarters marked a tie that contradicted Leyma's comfortable position just ten minutes earlier. The Coruña players could not respond to the defensive intensity imposed by Ponsarnau's team.

The fourth period came with a Bilbao in full boil. A 20-26 run in the last ten minutes consolidated the Biscay superiority. But what truly defined the outcome was their outside shooting: Bilbao accumulated fourteen three-pointers in the game, with a special concentration in the second half. This ability to score from the perimeter was the weapon that the Biscay team used to tilt the balance definitively in their favor.

Key players in the victory

Nate Darling led the Bilbao offense with 18 points, demonstrating that the team had versatile offensive resources. Darrun Hilliard contributed 17 points, while Harald Frey finished with 15, consolidating a wide distribution of scoring that characterized Ponsarnau's team. For Leyma, Conditt finished with 16 points, and both Jorgensen and Uleckas added 13 each, insufficient to contain Bilbao's push in the final stretch.

Context and future outlook

For Bilbao, the victory in the Coliseum Tournament represents their third consecutive win in the preseason, following victories against Alega Cantabria in Laredo and San Pablo Burgos on Friday in the same venue. The recurring pattern is telling: wide distribution of scoring and a considerable volume from three-point range. These data suggest that Ponsarnau's team is developing a clear offensive identity heading into official competition.

For Leyma, the result marks their first stumble after winning the Galicia Cup the previous Sunday against Breogán. However, there is a positive detail that tempers the defeat: both Conditt and Skapintsev, who did not participate in the friendly match in Palencia, are already performing in competition. Their integration into the competitive level could be decisive at the start of the season.

Both teams will face each other again in official competition in the near future. Leyma will host Surne Bilbao in the second round of the Liga Endesa, on Sunday, October 4, at 12:00. This match will have special media relevance, as it will be the first game that EITB broadcasts live this season. The rematch comes with a different context: it will no longer be a preseason final, but a league clash with points at stake, which will likely provide a different scenario than that experienced in Burgos.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El Bilbao Basket conquista el Torneo Coliseum con remontada épica