ESP – Splitter wins duel with Reyes as TAU reach final

VITORIA (ACB) – TAU Ceramica moved a step closer to a successful ACB title defense by beating Real Madrid 89-80 in a Game 3 decider on Saturday to advance to the league play-off finals.

In the victory, Dusko Ivanovic’s team got 22 points and nine rebounds from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Mirza Teletovic and 18 points and nine boards from Brazil’s Tiago Splitter.

Splitter limited Real captain Felipe Reyes to just 10 points on five of 11 shooting. In his team’s 102-82 Game 2 triumph, Reyes was nine of 10 from the floor and finished with 18 points.

“They (Splitter and Reyes) are both very good players and can make a difference but we managed to stop Felipe Reyes, especially Tiago in one-on-one situations, and that was the key,” Tau boss Ivanovic said.

Tau also got a big game from the ACB’s leading scorer, Serbia international Igor Rakocevic.

The veteran shooting guard who has been named in his country’s squad for EuroBasket 2009 – the qualifying event for the 2010 FIBA World Championship – had 20 points.

He was a perfect eight of eight at the charity stripe.

Tau await the winner of Sunday’s Game 3 decider between Barcelona and Unicaja Malaga.

Unicaja levelled that tie with an 82-75 win on Friday night, overcoming a 26-point explosion from Barca’s Spain national team guard Juan Carlos Navarro – the MVP of this year’s Euroleague.

Senegal international center Boniface N’dong had 20 points and nine rebounds for Unicaja.

FIBA