By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The power of the home court proved to be very important again, as after MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg won in front of their fans in Germany, Darussafaka Lassa returned the favor.
Yakup Sekizkok’s side took control with an amazing second quarter, paving the way to an 83-72 win to tie the Basketball Champions League best-of-three Play-In series and force a do-or-die game for both sides in Ludwigsburg (16/01).
Darussafaka completely dominated the glass, grabbing 54 rebounds, while the German side had 22 fewer. Josh Carlton was the key in securing rebounding control, finishing the match with the highest PIR of 27, thanks to 15 points and 15 boards.
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman was the top scorer of the winning side with 17 points, while Lloyd Pandi added 12, and Brendan Adams 11, along with seven assists.
Jayvon Graves once again led the scoring sheet for Ludwigsburg with 16 points, while Jaren Lewis added 12, with Desure Buie and Silas Melson scoring 10 points each.
The German side opened the match better and led 21-16 after 10 minutes, but Darussafaka turned the tables with a 24-5 run in the second period. From that point on, the guests couldn’t stop the bleeding, with the hosts grabbing an unattainable 58-34 lead early in the third quarter. Ludwigsburg managed to trim down the deficit but never threatened the hosts’ advantage until the end of the game.
Postgame press conference
Photo: fiba.basketball