The ‘red tide’ once again filled the Príncipe Felipe with atmosphere, but the team then coached by Chus Mateo never managed to find fluency on offense. Tenerife Rural, coached by Rafa Sanz, began by taking advantage of Iván Rodríguez’s outside shooting, although Zaragoza managed to end the first quarter ahead, 20-19.
The balance remained until halftime. Defensive intensity allowed CAI to contain its opponent, but offensive problems continued. Lescano, Onyekwe and Faverani could not find the expected accuracy, and the Aragonese side reached the interval with a narrow 40-38 lead.
The most tense moments came after halftime. Several refereeing decisions sparked protests from the crowd, and Tenerife Rural opened up a gap to make it 47-55. Quino Colom gave CAI a boost from the bench, but the red shirts entered the final quarter seven points down, 50-57.
Antwain Barbour, the visitors’ leading scorer with 20 points, made it 59-71 with a three-pointer less than five minutes from the end. CAI still responded and moved within 79-82 with 28 seconds remaining, but it could not complete the comeback. The statistic that reflected much of that troubled night was the foul count: 41 called against the Zaragoza side compared with 22 for Tenerife Rural.
The 82-88 defeat left CAI with two losses in the opening games of its fifth season in the LEB. This is how Aragón Digital reported it 20 years ago, in the original story about CAI Zaragoza’s defeat to Tenerife Rural.
