By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Gran Canaria may struggle a bit in Liga Endesa, but are making a more than serious case of being title contenders in Eurocup. After Cedevita, the Spanish team made a new victim, now of Nizhny Novgorod with an impressive 106 – 80 road victory.
Few players of Gran Canaria didn’t get distinguished in one way or another during the game, but it was Kyle Kuric who arguably outshined his teammates, finishing the match with 20 points (6/8 three-pointers) and 4 steals. Eulis Baez dropped 19, Royce O’ Neale 12 (10 of them in the first quarter) while Richard Hendrix and Bo McCalebb dropped 11 each.
The overall output of the winning squad was almost impeccable: 20/29 two-pointers, 12/23 from behind the arc and 31 assists. Way too much for Nizhny to handle, no matter the efforts of DeAndre Kane (21 points, 8 assists) and Siim-Sander Vene (14 points).
Coach Stalbergs’ players remained competitive only until the mid of the third quarter. With the score 56 – 65, Gran Canaria made a 2-13 partial score which put them in a pole position for good. Despite the final result, the game produced by the Russian team was at times really cool to watch, much to the credit of the young Latvian coach.