Bennet Cantu knock down SLUC Nancy 80-69 – Euroleague Recap
Bennet Cantu started their Turkish Airlines Euro League quest in style as they overcame SLUC Nancy 80-69 on Wednesday night in Pala Desio.
Nancy were the better team at the start, but 15 point from Andrea Cinciarini and some intelligent passing and pin point shooting by Bennet ensured their dominance after that.
Cantu were brilliant on free throws, ending with a healthy average of 77.7 percent in contrast to Nancy's 50 percent. Their aggressiveness was symbolized by the fact that they attempted 21 three-pointers as compared to a humble
7 by Nancy. Bennet knocked down ten of those shots.
Vladimir Micov was the other highlight from Bennet ending with 14 points along with 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Marko Scekic also chipped in with 11 points in the win.
Akin Akingbala was the star from Nancy, finishing with game-high 20 points and 7 rebounds. Nicolas Batum, the Portland Blazers star, also chipped in with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists but unfortunately for Nancy, the hard
work put in by these two proved futile as no other player managed to make any significant contribution.
Akingbala started the proceeding by scoring the first two baskets of the game for Nancy. The first one came on an assist from Batum in the first minute and second through a dunk in the preceding minute. The shots constituted of
an impressive 8-2 run in the starting minutes of the first quarter. However Bennet did not let Nancy pull away and quickly slashed the deficit with the help of a three pointer from Vladimir.
They kept on chasing Nancy for the rest of the period and the quarter ended with Nancy leading by 21-17.
The second quarter started on an Andrea three pointer as Bennet edged closer. Both teams were tough on defence in the ensuing period, which saw Bennet level the score with a help of Gianluca Bastle three in the third minute of
the quarter. Both teams fought hard after that and the half ended with scores level on 44-44.
The third quarter was welcomed by yet another three from Andrea. This one was special though, as it helped Bennet gain a lead for the first time at 47-44. Their strong defence only allowed Nancy to score 8 points in the quarter,
which ended with Bennet leading at 57-52.
Maarten Leunen’s hook shot and a foul from Nancy’s side extended Bennet’s lead to 61-52 early in the fourth. Akingbala tried hard to get his team back on track after that, but there was no other Nancy player to pick up the slack.
The result was the biggest loss of the night at 80-69.
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