Lokomotiv Kuban outlasted Barcelona 81-67 in Krasnodar to win their Euroleague Playoff series 3-2 and book their ticket to next month’s Final Four.
The Russian side had to come from behind as a 14-0 surge in the fourth quarter, led by Chris Singleton gave Lokomotiv the advantage that they never relinquished as Barca were held to just five points in that final period and have for the second straight season, failed to reach the Euroleague’s flagship event.
Malcolm Delaney led the winners with 17 points with Singleton adding 16 points, 11 of which came in that game-changing 14-0 run.
“I’m so happy to be part of the Final Four and going to Germany,” Singleton said. “Thank you to all the fans that came out. It’s been a great year. Hopefully we can try to win a championship.
“It’s game five: you’ve got to leave it all on the court. It’s win or go home. I got open shots: I made them. I was just being aggressive and believed in my teammates.”
“It’s a pride-like feeling,” added Lokomotiv coach Georgios Bartzokas. “Not many things to say. Just congratulations to our crowd and our club. It was a great job this year.
“We were very consistent in the game, even when Barcelona played excellent in the third quarter. We stayed focused on our game plan and finally we won the way we wanted.”
Stratos Perperoglou paced the Barcelona attack with 13 points.
