By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
San Pablo Burgos is the first Basketball Champions League crown holder that will defend its title in a Final. The Spanish team dominated Strasbourg in the second half to take a 81 – 70 comeback win and the ticket for a return to the championship game Sunday (9/5).
Burgos kept Strasbourg to just two points in six minutes from the end of the third period to the mid of the fourth while scoring 14 to enter the final stretch of the game up 74 – 59. With five minutes to play, the French side and Final 8 newcomer couldn’t do much to overcome that deficit against its opponents’ experience and wider array of solutions.
Speaking of a multitude of options, Burgos had the lot of them with five players scoring in double figures. Jasiel Rivero had 16 points plus six rebounds while Vitor Benite added 16 points of his own. Thad McFadden had 12 points, Dejan Kravic finished with 11 points plus six boards and Ken Horton contributed 10 points and five rebounds.
2021 BCL MVP Bonzie Colson (14 points), Brandon Jefferson (14 points, five assists) and Ishmail Wainright (11 points) stood out from Strasbourg. Their team had actually been the superior force on the court in the first half thanks to an electric 13 – 25 entrance. Burgos caught up enough to close the halftime down 37 – 43 and then proceeded to take the lead in the mid of the third period and then establish its own rules in the game.