By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Darius Adams exploded in the fourth quarter and helped Laboral Kutxa survive Real Madrid‘s come-back (68-77). This was the fourth win for the Basques (4-2), whereas the “Whites” suffered their third defeat (3-3).
For the winners, Fabien Causeur scored 15 points and Jaka Blazic added 13. On the other hand, Sergio Rodriguez had 18 points, with Willy Hernangomez scoring 13 and grabbing eight rebounds.
In the beginning, the match was close, as no team could take a significant advantage (11-10, 16-16), with the first quarter ending in a draw (19-19). Later, though, the visitors took control of the game.
Playing very well on both ends of the floor, and with Davis Bertans hitting consecutive three-pointers, they were retaining a six to eight-point lead (21-29, 27-33, 34-41), as the hosts managed to cut the deficit to four (37-41), at the end of the first half.
In the second half, the Basques went on a 4-15 run to take a double-digit advantage (41-56). Although the Madrid squad tried to bring things upside down (49-56), Velimir Perasovic‘s players stood tall and extended their lead to 10 points (49-59), after 30 minutes in the game (49-59).
Real, though, came back again. With Hernangomez and Rodriguez making the difference, the hosts went on a 14-5 run of their own and cut the deficit to just one (63-64). But, Darius Adams had the last word.
Kutxa’s guard scored crucial points, dished out assists and led his team to a 9-0 run to bring the lead back to double-digits (63-73) and secure Laboral’s big victory on the road, as Pablo Laso’s team ran out of time and couldn’t make another come-back.