Akin Akingbala stars as SLUC Nancy beat Caja Laboral 90-85 - Euroleague Recap
SLUC Nancy collected their second victory of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague 2011 by squeaking past Caja Laboral 90-85 in a mouth watering encounter played at Palais Des Sports Jean Ville Arena.
Nancy came into the night to face a team that had won all three of its encounters so far. However, they had the better of Caja Laboral, the last time the two giants met in 1997. Caja’s head coach Dusko Ivanovic has sounded the
warning before the game;
"Despite our three wins, we only think about the game against SLUC Nancy. They are a great team, with great transition game and athletic players. Nobody should dare thinking Nancy is only Nicolas Batum. They are a solid block and
they are showing their potential in their domestic league”.
Unfortunately his team never listened.
Nancy’s Akin Akingbala proved Dusko’s statement right by finishing with game high 26 points and 7 rebounds while Nicolas Batum missed a double-double by whisker with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.
Pape Philippe Amagou was also monumental and chipped in with his 16 whereas Adrien Moerman who finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds also looked good on the glass.
Mirza Teletovic completed a double-double and ended with magnificent 24 points and 13 rebounds for Laboral. He was assisted well by Fernando San Emeterio, who finished with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Kevin Seraphin also chipped
in with 12 but unfortunately their combined brilliance was not enough to keep Caja’s winning streak in the tournament intact.
Akingbala, started the proceedings with a driving layup followed a free throw to complete a three point play however it was answered quickly by Laboral’s Brad Oleson, who knocked down two three-pointers. It was followed by a jumper
from Teletovic which put Laboral ahead by 8-5 in the first three minutes.
Teletovic later drilled two more consecutive three pointers in the 6th minute to take Laboral ahead by 16-14. Both teams were neck to neck by the 8th minute however a quick burst by Nancy including a three
pointer right at the end provided them 8 point lead 28-20.
Akingbala, Moerman and Pape dominated Nancy’s offense in the first half of second quarter helping the French side maintain the lead. However the after first 5 minutes, Laboral offense got going and some quick points by Kevin Seraphin
and Teletovic brought Laboral just two points close in the last minutes at 47-45. In the ending moments of the first half though, Batum scored two free throws to make 49-45. Brad Oleson however restored the two point difference and the teams went into the
interval with scores at 49-47.
The third quarter turned out to be a three-point fest.
Teletovic drilled the first one to get Laboral ahead 52-51 in the second minute followed by Batum’s try and then San Emeterio’s. Both teams put up a brilliant show and didn’t allow either to run away with the show however two three
pointers in the dying moments followed by a jump shot by Nancy’s players ensured they entered the last quarter with a lead of 6 points 70-64.
This 6 point lead was the difference in the end as both teams almost scored same number of points in the last quarter. Laboral fought hard but Nancy were always ahead of them throughout the quarter and when the buzzer rang, Laboral
found themselves 5 points short.
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