By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Baskonia almost completely gave up a 20-point lead in the first Spanish Supercup semifinal against Barcelona and ultimately won 79 – 76 and advanced to Saturday’s title game.
With ten seconds remaining and the Basques up by 3, Chris Singleton kept his team alive with a block at Shavon Shields’ lay-up attempt. The Blaugrana had their chance to tie the game but Kyle Kuric’s 3-point attempt went off target.
Kuric, the 2016 Supercup MVP with Gran Canaria, was also Barcelona’s top player in the game by scoring a team-high 16 points. He also hit 3-pointer that capped Barcelona’s comeback from a 2-point deficit, 60-40, they were down in the mid of the third period.
Baskonia was superior in the vast majority of the game, especially in the second quarter which they dominated 27 -13. With Patricio Garino firing from all corners (16 points, 4/5 3-pointers) they established an advantage of 20 points before Barca’s fruitless comeback attempt down the stretch.
Shields also scored 13 points while Vincent Poirier had 10 and eight rebounds for Baskonia. From Barcelona’s side, Claver finished with 13 points and Kevin Pangos added 10 points plus eight assists.