By Eurohoops team/info@eurohoops.net
Despite Limoges’ effort to make a big come-back, Cedevita stood tall at the end, beat the French team 69-78 on the road and came very close to qualify to the next round. This was the fourth win for the visitors (4-3), whereas the hosts suffered their fifth defeat and are one step from being eliminated (2-5).
For the winners, Luka Babic was tremendous with 19 points and six rebounds, as both Miro Bilan and Luka Zoric scored 10 points. On the other hand, Heiko Schaffartzik was unstoppable for the losing squad, making an impressive double-double (17 points, 11 assists), with Yakhouba Diawara adding 13 points.
Cedevita made a great start to the game and quickly earned an 11-point advantage (0-11), but the French team responded with an 11-0 run of their own to tie the game (11-11), which continued to be close until the end of the first quarter (18-20). Later, the Croatians continued to play very well on both ends of the floor and brought their lead back to double digits, behind a 5-13 run (23-33). Limoges responded and cut the deficit to five points (30-35), however Cedevita remained solid and closed the first half in front by nine (39-48).
In the second half, the visitors executed very well on both ends of the floor and extended their advantage to 16 points (44-60), with three minutes to go in the third quarter. Things didn’t change much and Cedevita retained its double-digit advantage, after 30 minutes in the game (51-63). In the last quarter, the Croatians comfortably managed to keep the lead to double digits (56-67), but Limoges tried to make a big come-back and were down by six (63-69), with almost five minutes to go. The French, though, couldn’t come closer, with Cedevita standing tall and hitting some crucial shots (69-78) to secure a big win that brings the team close to qualification.