Uni Girona was on the verge of overturning a seemingly impossible semifinal tie. With courageous, intense, and brilliant play, the Girona team defeated Casademont Zaragoza 88–75, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the 19-point deficit from the first leg. The team made Fontajau dream with a memorable performance, but fatigue set in during overtime, and the dream of reaching the final slipped away.
Fontajau presented a top-tier atmosphere. Although not at full capacity, the crowd made it clear that this would be an intense match. With the fans pressing from the start, Mariona’s opening basket didn’t intimidate our players, who, led by Tate, tied the score at 4. Next, a great drive by Klara gave us the lead for the first time, and Guerrero added an excellent basket to make it 8–5. Hungry for more, Ainhoa made a free throw, and both Pierre-Louis, under the basket, and Sandra, from beyond the arc, forced Cantero to call a timeout (14–6). Despite the visitors’ instructions, Spar Girona continued to assert their authority: with Ainhoa’s energy, a three-pointer by Guerrero, an effective move under the hoop by Vi, and a free throw by Klara, the score climbed to 22–9.
At the start of the second quarter, Uni’s momentum kept growing, with Canella and Bobi capitalizing on their opportunities to extend the lead (26–9). Despite Mariona’s points from the free-throw line, drives by Klara and Hristova ignited Fontajau, which lived every play intensely (30–11). Cantero called another timeout, but despite a stretch of offensive errors, Pierre-Louis’s entry shook the scoreboard in Girona’s favor again (32–11). Nystrom partially stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer, but Ainhoa responded immediately, also from long range (35–14). Mariona replied with a fade-away, and after a turnover by Casademont, Íñiguez stopped the game with 3:35 left in the half. Upon resumption, Ainhoa and Canella extended the lead to 39–18. However, a 0–7 run led by Hempe allowed the visitors to cut the deficit (39–25). Near the end of the quarter, Pierre-Louis made two free throws to leave the score at 41–25 in favor of Uni Girona.
With the change of quarters, Uni regained their best form on both ends of the court, tying the aggregate score with a three-pointer by Canella (46–27) and extending the lead with plays by Borislava and Marta (50–27). After a technical foul on Hempe and a free throw made by Borislava, a three-pointer by Guerrero once again made Fontajau erupt (54–29). Casademont called another timeout, and upon resumption, the visitors’ reaction was swift, led by Mariona Ortiz and Hempe (56–39). Íñiguez responded with a timeout with 2:45 left in the third quarter, and Ainhoa López added two consecutive drives of great quality (60–42). However, Mariona Ortiz closed the quarter for Casademont from the free-throw line (with a notable 7 of 17 for the Aragonese team), while Pierre-Louis scored for Uni to leave the scoreboard at 62–44 at the end of the third period.
With the nerves typical of the final minutes, both teams missed their initial attacks. Nonetheless, Canella once again brought Fontajau to its feet with another one-legged three-pointer (65–44). The response was swift, with Laia Flores scoring a three-pointer in Zaragoza’s next attack (65–47). Pierre-Louis punished again under the basket, and the game entered a phase of exchanges with errors from the free-throw line (68–49). A three-pointer by Mawuli momentarily silenced the crowd, but Carol immediately replied to reignite the stands (71–52). Lundquist was accurate from the free-throw line (73–52), but Pueyo cut the lead with another three-pointer (73–55). In the final moments, Borislava didn’t miss from the free-throw line to make it +20 (75–55). Íñiguez called a timeout with 37.5 seconds left, but a turnover allowed Mawuli to complete a 2+1 play (75–58). Roberto stopped the game again with 21.4 seconds left to prepare the last play, which culminated in a basket under the hoop by Hristova (77–58). Cantero used his last timeout with 2.5 seconds left, but Mawuli’s final possession had no effect, and the game ended with a great victory for Spar Girona (77–58).
Fatigue became evident in the last five minutes, and with Mawuli’s 3+1 play, Canella was forced to leave the game injured (77–62). Nevertheless, the offensive rhythm revived for both teams, entering a constant exchange of baskets (83–68). A three-pointer by Mané brought Casademont closer to the final with 1:23 left in overtime (83–71). After Uni’s timeout, Carol attempted a three-pointer that didn’t go in, and Mariona Ortiz extended the visitors’ lead from the free-throw line. With 45 seconds left, Klara hit a three-pointer (86–73), but another foul gave Casademont more points from the free-throw line to seal the game. Spar Girona, despite fighting until the end, fell with honor to an effective Casademont Zaragoza, with a final score of 88–75.
