By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
Lietkabelis put on their A-game but Casademont Zaragoza answered right back and got away with a 90-88 road win.
The Spaniards closed the best-of-three series with a 2-0 sweep and advanced to the Basketball Champions League quarterfinals.
Jason Thompson scored four straight free throws to push Zaragoza ahead 87-83 but on the other side, Tomas Dimsa banked five points (89-88) to give Lietkabelis chance but they couldn’t find the right shot and the guests sealed the deal.
Nicolas Brussino led the way with 21 points on 8-10 shooting (5-7 triples) while Dylan Ennis followed with 19 and Jason Thompson with 13 points. Ennis also dished seven assists.
For Lietkabelis, Tomas Dimsa and Zeljko Sakic made four shots from deep each on their way to 18 and 17 points respectively while Paulius Valinskas helped with 11.
Lietkabelis started furiously from the very start and were on fire from deep draining 11-13 threes in the first half as well as dishing 19 assists. Zeljko Sakic was leading the effort with 12 points including 3-3 for three.
However, Zaragoza wasn’t too far behind. They may not have been as efficient from the three-point line but they still nailed eight of them as Brussino and Ennis held them close with ten points each. The Lithuanians were ahead 54-48 at the break.
“Today, it was a very tough game because in the first half they played better than us in the first half. We know they have great shooters and in the second half our defense was the key for the game,” Zaragoza coach Porfirio Fisac said.
The Spanish side kept their rhythm after halftime rest and slowly turned things in their favor. Rodrigo San Miguel’s three-pointer gave them their first lead (80-77) of the game midway through the final quarter and they eventually prevailed in the close finish.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League