George Bates topped the weekend’s points standings in Spain and posted the joint-highest rebounds as Mideba Extremadura end 2020 level on points at the top of Spain’s Division de Honor, with seven GB players just one point behind after CD Ilunion’s victory over BSR Amiab Albacete.
Bates scored a league-high 36 points and collected 15 rebounds as Mideba bounced back from their first defeat of the season with a 86:70 win over Fundación Vital Zuzenak to ensure they remain level on points with Bidaideak Bilbao BSR at the top of the table.
Phil Pratt was influential once again, recording 11 assists and 12 rebounds, in addition to his four points, with the GB Men’s captain in the league’s top-five and top-10 for assists and rebounds, respectively, this season.
With the latest round of fixtures the last before the league’s four-week mid-season break, next-up for Mideba will be a trip to Madrid to take on CD Ilunion when the season resumes on 16 January.
Terry Bywater’s and Gregg Warburton’s CD Ilunion head into the festive period off the back of five successive wins, their latest coming at BSR Amiab Albacete on Saturday. The clash between Ilunion and Albacete is always one of the most hotly anticipated fixtures of the season, and on Saturday featured seven GB internationals.
Lee Manning was the game’s highest-scoring player with 18 points for Albacete, but it was Bywater and Warburton who celebrated the win; a victory which saw Ilunion move level on points with Albacete in the table, one point behind the leading duo.
Bywater was Ilunion’s top-scorer with 16 points, while Warburton claimed his team’s most assists with six, along with eight points, as Ilunion triumphed 62:72.
For Albacete, Gaz Choudhry scored 17 points and a game-high total of 11 rebounds, while Kyle Marsh topped the assists charts with eight, along with 10 points. Harry Brown and Ben Fox were also in action for Albacete.
Lewis Edwards and Sam Mack helped Iberconsa Amfiv secure their first win in six games, scoring six points each in Amfiv’s 61:65 victory over Fundacion FDI Las Rozas. Edwards also recorded five assists and 10 rebounds.
Abdi Jama scored nine points as his Amivel side lost 72:60 to Fundacion Aliados, while there was also a defeat for James MacSorley, who scored four points in BSR ACE Gran Canaria’s 86:67 loss to league leaders Bidaideak Bilbao BSR.
Will Bonner and Lee Fryer ended a busy December with victory as they were both part of the Servigest Burgos side which won 33:76 away at Getafe BSR. Fryer posted his highest points total of the season so far with 15 points, while Bonner scored six – equalling his season’s best.
In Germany, Simon Brown and Ian Sagar ended the year on a high, thanks to a 90:40 win for RSV Lahn-Dill against ING Skywheelers. Brown scored six points and recorded the highest number of assists with 13 – nine more than any other player in Germany – along with nine rebounds.
Sagar scored two points as RSV Lahn-Dill ended the calendar year four points behind Helen Freeman’s RSB Thuringia Bulls, who have played a game more.
Most Points (GB Players)
36 – George Bates (Mideba; Spain)
18 – Lee Manning (Albacete; Spain)
17 – Gaz Choudhry (Albacete; Spain)
Most Assists (GB Players)
13 – Simon Brown (Lahn-Dill; Germany)
11 – Phil Pratt (Mideba; Spain)
8 – Kyle Marsh (Albacete; Spain)
Most Rebounds (GB Players)
15 – George Bates (Mideba; Spain)
12 – Phil Pratt (Mideba; Spain)
11 – Gaz Choudhry (Albacete; Spain)
