Lokomotiv Kuban hung on in the final seconds to beat Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 78-76 in Group F of the Euroleague Top 16 in Krasnodar.
The Russian side moved to 4-5, snapping a three-game losing streak in the process and a three-game losing streak this Euroleague season against Maccabi as David Blu missed a potential game-winning three for Maccabi, which missed the target, and the game clock at zero.
The loss is damaging for the Israeli side’s hopes of finishing top of the group, as they go to 6-3.
Croatian international Krunoslav Simon led all scorers with 23 points and 5 assists for Kuban as they continue their fight for a spot in the last eight.
“Before the game I said there’s no way we can go 0-4 against Maccabi and we proved our quality today,” Simon said. “I’m happy for my teammates, after a long stretch we’ve finally managed to succeed in a close game. Everyone’s saying I had a good game, but it was truly a team effort and a very important one for our playoff chances.”
Sofoklis Schortsanitis had 18 to lead Maccabi.
Real Madrid kept the heat on CSKA Moscow in the race for top spot in Group F as they coasted to an 85-74 win over Galatasaray in Istanbul.
Nikola Mirotic led Real Madrid with 18 points, as they never looked like trailing against their Turkish counterparts. The Liga Endesa side goes to 8-1. Zoran Erceg had 18 for Galatasaray as they drop to 3-6.
“My team played the best 40 minutes of the season until now,” Madrid coach Pablo Laso said. “We led all the quarters. Rebounding was the key for us to keep controlling the rhythm of the game. And it also helped us to control the score.”
Laboral Kutxa made a statement that they will fight all the way for an unlikely last eight place after beating Panathinaikos 68-61 in Athens.
Andres Nocioni led Laboral with 16 points and 13 rebounds as the former NBA veteran turned it on just when Vitoria needed it. In those 13 rebounds, 3 of them were offensive. The winners pick up only their second win of the Top 16 while the Greens drop to 4-5.
Dimitris Diamantidis led the hosts with 15 points.
Unicaja Malaga were outstanding as they beat Anadolu Efes 83-75 in Malaga.
The hosts now have sole possession of third place with this win as they raced out to a 17-1 lead and never looked away from there. The Turkish side were outplayed for all 40 minutes.
Zoran Dragic led Unicaja with 24 points, shooting 4/6 from three-point land.
“We knew that we were facing a rival that, although their chances to classify for the playoffs are very low, they had nothing to lose,” Malaga coach Joan Plaza said. “We had a good start, very accurate, but we were not good enough to break the game open and get a more ample difference.
“They started to improve their game, getting points easier and the difference in the score was getting smaller. In those moments, the team was great, controlling their play and keeping in control with good decisions. This was a good and important achievement.”
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