By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With an impressive performance in the second quarter (12-24), Barcelona escaped from Krasnodar with a big victory against Lokomotiv Kuban (66-92), tied the series (1-1) and now has the upper hand in the battle of qualification.
For the winners, Stratos Perperoglou had 13 points, with Juan Carlos Navarro and Justin Doellman scoring 12 points each. On the other hand, Anthony Randolph and Malcolm Delaney had 17 points each for the losing squad.
Barcelona made a great start to the game (5-13, 10-18), however the Russians responded and came back, thanks to a 9-0 run (19-18). The visitors, though, managed to end the first quarter in front by five (19-24).
Later, the Spaniards enhanced their overall performance and outscored their opponents 24-12 in the second quarter to close the first half in front by 17 (31-48).
In the second half, things didn’t change much. Barcelona comfortably retained their advantage and had a 22-point lead, after 30 minutes in the game (49-71).
In the fourth quarter, the hosts tried to make a big come-back and cut the deficit to 13 points (61-74), with five minutes to go. The visitors, though, went on a 5-18 run, secured their victory and tied the series, with Game 3 and 4 taking place in Spain next week.