By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Cory Higgins in the first half and Nando De Colo in the second, did all that was necessary for their team in order to get an ultra decisive victory. CSKA Moscow didn’t only manage to defeat Laboral Kutxa (90 – 78) but also cover the 10-point difference with which it had lost in Vitoria.
The aforementioned backckourt duo struck in key moments of the game for CSKA Moscow. De Colo scored 10 out of his 19 points in the last quarter, slicing through Laboral’s defense like knife does to hot butter, in order to preserve a solid lead for his team and keep his opponents at a safe distance by providing precious scoring solutions.
Before him, Higgins had been the one to pave the road for his team’s win. His momentum changing buckets at the end of the first period transformed the picture of the game, since he scored seven out of the 10 points with which CSKA made it 20 – 14 from 10-14. The American guard finished with a total of 18 points and excellent shooting (7/8 field goals)
Now the Russians have the tie breaking advantage and the upper hand for finishing the Top 16 at the first place in their Group. Though in moments, it looked like this win for CSKA would have come easily, Laboral Kutxa did not surrender even in periods when everything seemed to be against them.
But the Basques needed a lot more than the fantastic efforts of Adam Hanga (17 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals) on both ends of court, since it lacked the needed accuracy for behind the arc (7/29 three-pointers) to match their opponents’ offensive strength. Giannis Bourousis struggled against the physical defense of the hosts, could not help his team as usual, while Fabien Causeur and Darius Adams combined for a negative 3/17 in their three-point attempts.
Nando De Colo received his February MVP award, before the game began
