Caja Laboral bested Asseco Prokkom 73-80

Caja Laboral remained the team to beat in Group A after downing Asseco Prokom 73-80 Wednesday at Gdynia Sports Arena to improve to 2-0. Prokom was within 1 point after Ratko Varda opened the second half with a basket, but Stanko Barac scored three times and David Logan and Marcelinho Huertas each dished 3 assists in a game-breaking 2-17 charge. The hosts continued to challenge until the bitter end, but clutch three-pointers from Mirza Teletovic helped the Spanish champs walk away with a win. Barac finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds for the winners, Teletovic scored 17, Marcelinho recorded 12 points and 8 assists and Brad Oleson added 10 points. Logan, who spent the last two seasons with Prokom, tallied 8 points, 4 assists and 3 steals for Laboral, which travels to face BC Khimki next week. Bobby Brown paced the Polish champs with 19 points and J.R. Giddens scored 16 for Prokom, which heads to Zalgiris in Week 3. Laboral went inside to Barac for the game’s opening basket before Dan Ewing answered back twice for the hosts. Logan was aggressive about getting his shots, but Prokom was ready. Brown hit a jumper and fed Ronnie Burrell down low to keep the hosts slightly ahead. However Logan sniped a triple from the corner midway through the quarter to put the visitors on top 8-9. Teletovic found his shooting touch with a triple, but Adam Hrycaniuk and Piotr Szczota kept the hosts close. But another Teletovic triple and a Fernando San Emeterio free throw gave the visitors a 15-20 cushion after 10 minutes. Marcelinho fed Martin Rancik for a reverse scoop as Laboral looked to pull away early in the second quarter. Oleson added a bucket before quick passing left Rancik open for a two-handed jam and caused Prokom to call timeout hoping to stop a 0-10 run. Brown revived the home team before Jan Jagla nailed a triple that brought the crowd back to life. Oleson stepped up with a three to stretch the lead to 9, but Prokom had its confidence back as Giddens scored inside and Varda on the offensive glass. Giddens further cut the gap to 4 with a basket-plus-foul only to see Oleson and Logan bring the Laboral lead back to 8. Brown came back from a timeout with a pull-up three and a minute later produced a steal and layup. In the final minute of the quarter, Filip Videnov drove baseline to bring Prokom within 38-41 at halftime. Varda sank a turnaround jump shot at the start of the second half, but a Teletovic triple kept the visitors in front. Logan followed from downtown and Prokom head coach Tomas Pacesas immediately called timeout. Logan remained active with assists to Barac and Marcelinho, whose triple gave Laboral its biggest lead yet, 40-52. A Videnov basket was met by two from Barac and soon Teletovic had the visitors ahead by 16. Jagla answered with a triple and Giddens netted 2 from the line before Brown attacked the basket for an athletic layup. Brown restored the fans interest with a triple to cap a 10-2 spurt and he added another layup to make it 54-62 at the end of the quarter. Teletovic started the fourth quarter with his fourth three-pointer of the night and after a Giddens basket, Oleson drilled a three as well. Brown remained hot and his rainbow triple lowered the deficit to 61-68. Teletovic came right back with a three and Marcelinho copied him as Laboral went ahead by double figures again. Prokom continued to produce on offense, but Laboral was equal to the challenge at its own end. Hrycaniuk made it an 8-point game after scoring on the offensive glass with three minutes left, however a Barac hook with 2:17 left practically sealed the outcome. Giddens had a three-pointer up his sleeve, but it was not enough as Laboral slowed the game and held on for the win.