By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Lokomotiv Kuban easily beat Karsiyaka 78-88 on the road, one week before their clash with Barcelona for the first place in group C. This was the seventh win for the winners (7-2), whereas the hosts, who have already been eliminated, suffered their seventh loss (2-7).
For the winners, Ryan Broekhoff was unstoppable with 26 points, as three more players were in double digits. On the other hand, Justin Carter had 25 points, five rebounds and four assists for the losing squad, with Kenny Gabriel adding 15 points.
In the beginning, the match was close (8-10), however Lokomotiv quickly took control of the game and took a double-digit advantage (13-23), with a 5-13 run. Karsiyaka, though, fought back and closed the first quarter down by five points (22-27). Later, no team could take a significant advantage (29-30, 40-44), with the visitors ending the first half with a seven-point advantage (43-50).
In the second half, the Turks made a good start (48-51), but the Russians immediately made an impressive 13-0 run, took a 16-point lead (48-64) and never looked back, executing very well on both ends of the floor. Giorgos Bartzokas’ team had a double-digit advantage after 30 minutes (57-70) and things didn’t change much in the last quarter. Although Karsiyaka cut the deficit to eight points (63-71), Lokomotiv responded with a 9-0 run (63-80) and secured an easy victory, one week before their big game against Barcelona in Krasnodar, which will determine whether the Russians or the Spaniards will claim thee first place in group C.