By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With 10 seconds left in overtime Sasa Vezenkov gave the last hope to Barcelona cutting the lead of Laboral Kutxa to one point (79-78). Giannis Bourousis made two free throws, competing one more monster game with 24 points and 8 rebounds, Pau Ribas missed the next shot and the guests got a big win in Barcelona with 81-78 (70-70).
The Greek center got great help by Darius Adams who made all the big shots, had 17 points and send the game to ovetime at the buzzer. For the losing side Alex Abrines had an amazing night with 21 points, he almost won the game alone in the last quarter, but in the end he couldn’t.
The first half proved to be quite a balanced affair with Laboral Kutxa getting a two points lead (31-29). It was a very physical 20 minutes, with defense dictating the tempo, something unusual in clash of two Spanish teams. Giannis Bourousis was limited by 2 early fouls and that proved to be an issue for the guests.
Things changed in the second half. Bourousis entered the game, he anchored the game of Laboral Kutxa on both sides of the floor and finished the third period with 13 points, 7 of them made in the quarter. While Barcelona had trouble scoring, the guests with a 16-4 run build a 51-38 lead and the answer of Barca was to finish the third period with a 6-0 run (51-44).
Laboral Kutxa managed to keep the lead and they had an 8 points advantage (61-53) with five minutes left. With the time running out, Barcelona made an admirable last push and with a 17-6 run, taking the lead for the first time one minute before the last buzzer thanks to a shot made by Shane Lawal (68-67). Ηowever it was Alex Abrines who was leading the charge, scoring 12 points in the last quarter. Pau Ribas made it a three points game (70-67) and set the stage for the big three of Darius Adams which send the game to overtime.