After six home wins in a row in the 2016 Euroleague playoffs, it was probably time for an away win and the first game on Friday night delivered it. The second game nearly provided us with another away win but that was a game that went to overtime and left a mark on anyone who was fortunate enough to watch it.
Three of the four teams who have played at home this week may lead 2-0 going into the second week of games but the action tonight should remind us that you cannot take anything for granted.
Playoff D
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 66 – FC Barcelona 92
The Catalan club would have been feeling low about the way the Wednesday night game ended when they had victory in their hands. However, if they were gutted, they used that in the most appropriate manner to bounce back and work towards victory on Friday evening.
In the end, Barcelona managed to win by 26 points, which was the second biggest win on the road in the playoffs and the first time an away team has won a playoff game by 20 points since 2009. It was Barcelona who managed that victory as well, so they’ve maintained a good bit of history.
A key player for the Catalan club was Juan Carlos Navarro, who was playing his 300th Euroleague game. He managed to grab 18 points in the win while Stratos Perperoglu provided 13 points for the winners. Ante Tomic and Justin Doellman both notched 12 points in the win and there was a double-double from Tomas Satoransky, who provided 13 points and 10 assists. For the hosts, Malcolm Delaney notched 19 points, Anthony Randolph offered up 17 points and Sergey Bykov notched 12 points on the loss.
Both teams managed to notch 9 points without reply early on with both teams having the lead in the opening quarter. At the break, Barca were 17 points ahead at 31-48 and stretched this out to 30 points late on in the third quarter. The hosts rallied slightly late on but Barcelona managed to stroll to the win that ties the series at 1-1 and now hands them the home court advantage for the two games in Catalonia next week.
Playoff B
Laboral Kutxa Vitoria Gasteiz 82 – Panathinaikos Athens 78
Laboral have a 2-0 lead as they head to Greece next week but things could have been different in this one. The game went to the dying seconds in regular time and overtime, with both teams being pushed to the limits.
The Spanish side were missing Adam Hanga who was injured in the opening game, leaving the hosts relying mainly on six core players. Laboral were two ahead at the break and in the fourth quarter, held a 10 point lead.
There was a comeback in store for Panathinaikos though Dimitris Diamantidis sunk a three-point shot to take us into additional time. The overtime period saw the hosts lead late on through Ioannis Bourousis but a big miss from Miroslav Raduljica with 10 seconds left on the clock killed the hosts chances, with Darius Adams topping the game off in style.
Adams grabbed 24 points for the winners, Davis Bertans offered 15 points, Bourousis notched 14 points, Mike Hames grabbed 13 points and Kim Tillie provided 10 points in the win. Diamantidis picked up 17 points in the loss, Elliot Williams provided 12 points, Ognen Kuzmic grabbed 11 points and Raduljica was stuck on 10 points.
The Greeks will take some confidence into next week’s game but they know that one less ends their Euroleague campaign for the season.
The Round 3 games both take place on Tuesday 19th April:
- FC Barcelona Lassa v Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar
- Panathinaikos Athens v Laboral Kutxa Vitoria Gasteiz
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