By Stefan Djordjevic / info@eurohoops.net
After three years of falling short, this time around, Tsmoki-Minsk qualified for the Basketball Champions League regular season and they started off the new chapter with an 82-75 win at the expense of Cholet Basket which also debuted in the competition.
Maksim Salash led the way with 20 points followed by Kris Clyburn and Rob Lowery with 19 and 18 respectively. Lowery also dished ten assists for a double-double and all his points came for the three-point range (6-12).
For Cholet, Gregor Hrovat scored 18 points in addition to Gerry Blakes’ 14 and Lasan Kromah’s 11 points. Nianta Diarra scored six but also grabbed 11 boards.
The Belarusian team had an upper hand since the start but the crucial runs happened in the second quarter (8-0 run for 43-29) and early on in the final period (10-0 run for 71-54). Cholet didn’t let go as they bounced back multiple times but they couldn’t turn the tables and just softened the blow in the end.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League