By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Tornike Shengelia scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds to post his fifth double-double of the season and lead Baskonia to a crucial victory 88 – 77 over Khimki Moscow in Vitoria.
“MVP was the team. We did a great job defensively and offensively. Four more games to go at home and two outside. We are still fighting for the playoffs,” Shengelia said in the post-game flash interview he gave after being named MVP of the match thanks to the game-high 28 PIR he registered.
It was a win of the utmost importance for Baskonia since they have now improved their record to 11 – 13 and drawn closer to 8th Maccabi in the standings. The Israelis remained with 12 victories after losing to CSKA Moscow at home.
The Basques learned about this result at the break and it’s safe to assume that it was another reason they came back from the locker rooms extra hyped to finish the job as early as possible. That was the case indeed thanks to a 16 – 4 run transformed the 44 – 39 halftime score to 60 – 44. The margin never fell lower than double figures.
In total contrast with a beautiful start that handed them a 12 – 26 with one minute left in the first period, Khimki looked hypnotized in the remainder of the game, especially in the third period. They had some minor glimpses late in the match, that only allowed them to reduce a bit a 19-point deficit they fell back with at the end of the third quarter.
The guests lost that 14-point lead in the second period where they failed in their defensive duties, especially in transition. Rodrigue Beaubois (16 points, 8 in the second quarter) and Shengelia did much damage during that stretch. Things went particularly downhill for Khimki in the third period since they found themselves down 67 – 48 with two minutes left in the third.
EuroLeague leading scorer Alexey Shved had 10 points in the first period but failed to produce in the next two. He finished with a game-high 23 points but shot 7/22 from the field. Anthony Gill added 21 points for Khimki that is now 14-10. Their playoff chances are safe for now, but they lost ground in the battle for a spot in the Top 4.