In a thriller that went down to the wire, U18 CSKA Moscow remained undefeayed in the 2017 Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Finals by rallying past U18 FC Barcelona Lassa 90-88 in Group A on Friday. CSKA improved to 2-0 and faces CFBB Paris in a do-or-die showdown for a spot in the Euroleague Basketball ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Finals Championship Game while Barcelona, who won the tournament last season, dropped to 0-2 and ran out of chances to advance. Yury Umrikhin led the winners with 18 points. Aleksandr Ershov added 17, Alexander Khomenko had 13, including the game-winning free throws, while Dmitrii Khaldeev got 12 for CSKA. Sergi Martinez led Barcelona with 23 points. Arnas Velickas added 18, Luka Samanic and Raimon Carrasco each had 11 while Nikola Zizic got 10 for the Spanish powerhouse. CSKA outrebounded Barcelona by 46-33, pulling down 17 offensive boards, and rallied from a 15-point deficit to win the game.

Martinez and Zizic shined early to give Barcelona a 5-10 lead. Umrikhin tried to change things for CSKA with a three-point play but Barcelona found a new go-to guy in Velickas, who had five points in a 0-10 run that made it a double-digit game, 8-20. Martinez kept pacing his team with a three-point play but Nikita Soldatov and Khaldeev kept CSKA within 17-29 after 10 minutes. Samanic and David Font buried back-to-back three-pointers early in the second quarter but Khaldeev and Ershov brought CSKA a bit closer, 26-37. Zizic stepped up with a couple of baskets and Martinez added free throws for a 31-45 Barcelona margin. Khomenko and Viktor Lakhin rescued CSKA but Carrasco had seven points late in the first half for a 43-54 Barcelona margin at the break. Etshov followed a jumper with a dunk for a 47-54 CSKA deficit right after halftime. Martinez and Velicka stepped up for Barcelona but Umrikhin, Khaldeev and Ershov brought CSKA even closer, 67-69, after 30 minutes. A free throw by Umrikhin gave CSKA its first lead, 73-72, with under 7 minutes left. Samanic and Carrasco rescued Barcelona, Font struck from downtown and Martinez made CSKA call timeout at 78-83. Khomenko singlehandedly rescued CSKA and a three-pointer by Umrikhin gave CSKA an 88-85 edge with 24 secons left. Velicka answered from downtown off a timeout but Barcelona fouled on Khomenko, who hits both attempts for a 90-88 lead. Velicka missed a step-back triple at the buzzer.