Artūrs Kurucs Photo: “Baskonia”
The units represented by Latvian basketball players Artūrs Kurucs and Jānis Strēlnieks lost in the ULEB Euroleague seventh round matches on Friday. Kuruca’s Vitoria “Baskonia” in the away game against St. Petersburg’s “Zenit” with the result 54:83 (23:21, 7:24, 7:20, 17:18) acknowledged the superiority of the Russian team.
The Latvian basketball player was on the field for 13 minutes and 56 seconds, during which he scored three points. He also collected three personal notes, provoked one opponent’s penalty and finished the game with a neutral efficiency factor. In the Vitoria team with 13 points scored, Jason Granger was the most productive, but with 12 points scored, Veids Boldvins and Simone Fontekio added. In the St. Petersburg team, Jordan Lloyd stood out with 20 points and eight rebounds.
The Kaunas Riflemen’s “Žalgiris” unit was defeated against Istanbul’s “Anadolu Efes” with a result of 60:94 (17:24, 12:20, 17:25, 14:25). In the 13 minutes and 34 seconds spent on the field, the Latvian basketball player did not score, but won two rebounds, gave one assists, intercepted two passes from opponents, received one note and ended the game with a neutral efficiency ratio. Artūrs Milaknis and Luks Lekavičs scored 14 points in the “Žalgiris” team. Tibor Pleiss stood out in the Istanbul team with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Philip Petrushev scored 14 points.
It has already been reported that on Thursday in the seventh round match, Roland Schmidt’s “Barcelona” away gave up Maccabi Playtika with the result 68:85, experiencing the first loss in the Euroleague this season. Also this season, ten countries with 18 teams are represented in the Euroleague, which is the same as in the previous season. The teams will play a two-lap tournament, with the top eight entering the playoffs. The Euroleague champion will be determined in Berlin, where the final four tournament will take place. Last season, the champion was Istanbul’s “Anadolu Efes”, which beat “Barcelona” in the final.
