Eurocup 2/2008 - Tarbes 83, Extrugasa 52

I recently read a translated article from a Spanish website - can't remember which one - that stated that Extrugasa (1-1) was going to be the top team in Group J. I wonder if the French Tarbes (2-0) team was reading that article? They were certainly motivated by something, since they beat Extrugasa 83-52 at home.

The boxscore, for those who want their Halloween scare early, is here.

It was a close game in the first half: Tarbes only led 37-29 at halftime. Tarbes extended its lead in the third quarter and then blew Extrugasa out of the fourth quarter 26-7 in front of a crowd of 1,100 spectators in Tarbes.

Tarbes shot an astonishing 61 percent from the field, a fact that alone should explain the 30 plus point win.

More ugly facts:

* Extrugasa shot 37 percent.
* Extrugas was outrebounded 41 to 19.
* At the free throw line, Extrugasa went 6-for-15 to what I suspect is a season low 40 percent.

This wasn't a WNBA All-Star team like Ekaterinburg. Tarbes GB had Tanisha Wright - a player for the Seattle Storm - score 12 points and five rebounds, and even she wasn't the highlight of Tarbes. Ndeye Ndiaye scored 12 points and 11 rebounds for the only double double of the game. Isabelle Yacoubou-Dehoui had 13 points and nine rebounds, and six players from Tarbes would score in double figures.

Katia Da Silva would lead Extrugasa with 12 points and six rebounds, and Tamera Young would score 12 points and five rebounds.

The fact that so many players - six for Tarbes, four for Extrugasa - scored between 10 and 20 and points and yet Extrugasa got blown out by thirty points suggests problems on both sides of the ball.

I guess the question is "does Extrugasa want to win the Eurocup?" Coach Isaac Fernandez implied that LFB play was more important than Eurocup...and this sorry showing provides support for that hypothesis.