Brodziansky leads Joventut in rout of Lokomotiv

Joventut Badalona grabbed its third consecutive victory in Group A by topping Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 100-77 at Palau Olimpic de Badalona on Wednesday. Joventut improved to 7-2 in the standings while Lokomotiv dropped to 6-3. Vladimir Brodziansky led the winners with a career-high 31 points, Pau Ribas added 18, Ferran Bassas 12, Joel Parra 11 and Guillem Vives 10 for Joventut. Errick McCollum led Lokomotiv with 23 points, Stanislav Ilnitskiy added 14, Johnathan Motley 13 and Darius Thompson 10 scored for the visitors. Joventut led 50-46 at halftime before the hosts found a go-to guy in Brodziansky, who scored 12 third-quarter points. Parra and Ribas also stepped up to break the game open, 80-58, at the end of the quarter as Lokomotiv never recovered.

Motley got Lokomotiv going with a layup and Ilnitskiy soon added a corner triple for a 0-5 lead. Ribas stepped up with a backdoor layup but Motley and McCollum boosted the lead to 2-9. After Vives hit a triple, Thompson found Ilnitskiy for a jumper and scored off a steal for a 5-13 Lokomotiv margin. Ribas kept pushing Joventut and Brodziansky scored down low to make it 12-16. Brandon Paul bettered McCollum's floater with a bomb from downtown and Ferran Bassas also hit a triple to bring the hosts closer, 18-20. Motley and Kidd fueled a 0-6 run, but Parra and Derek Willis brought Joventut within 22-27 after 10 minutes.

Parra scored in the low post early in the second quarter and Bassas buried back-to-back three-pointers to put Joventut ahead, 30-27, after a 12-1 run. Thompson took over with a coast-to-coast slam, but Parra matched it with a layup, A red-hot Bassas added a shot from beyond the arc and Ante Tomic hit a jump hook for a 37-29 score. Motley and McCollum stepped up for Lokomotiv. Tomic hit a jumper and Ribas added a coast-to-coast layup for a 41-37 Joventut lead. Kidd answered with a power basket but McCollum and Thompson helped Lokomotiv take a 43-44 lead. Ribas downed a big three-pointer and got help from Brodziansky to give Joventut a 50-46 lead at halftime.

Brodziansky took over with a three-point play soon after the break. Ilnitskiy banked in a fadeaway jumper and soon added a three-pointer in a 0-7 Lokomotiv run, as Tomic left the game with a double technical foul. Vives answered from downtown and Brodziansky added a jump hook for a 58-53 Joventut lead. Motley scored in the paint but an outstanding Brodziansky gave Joventut its first double-digit lead, 66-55. McCollum buried a jumper, but Parra followed a driving layup with a jump hook and Ribas fired in his third three-pointer to break the game open, 74-58. Willis soon added a layup and Ribas scored in penetration to make it 80-58 after 30 minutes.

Brodzianskiy kept pushing Joventut early in the fourth quarter and his jump hook capped a mammoth 18-1 run that sealed the outcome, 84-58. Kidd buried a three-pointer and McCollum bettered Pep Busquets's floater with a three-point play, as Joventut tried to use longer possessions to run the game clock down. Willis buried a three-pointer before Lokomotiv called timeout down 94-66 with less than 6 minutes left. Little changed after that, as Joventut kept a safe margin until the final buzzer, allowing its fans to celebrate a convincing win.

Lokomotiv's Ilnitskiy reaches 100 EuroCup games

Stanislav Ilnitskiy of Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar became the 18th player in 7DAYS EuroCup history to play 100 games in the competition. Ilnitskiy did it in Round 9, in which Lokomotiv lost on the road against Joventut Badalona. He made his EuroCup debut with Khimki Moscow Region in the 2013-14 campaign and helped it win the competition in 2015. Ilnitskiy played 61 of his 100 EuroCup games with Lokomotiv and has a 73-27 record in the competition with 327 points and 203 rebounds until now. Two other former Lokomotiv players reached 100 EuroCup games: Dmitry Khvostov, who ranks third overall with 133 appearances, and Vladimir Ivlev (102).

Brodzianskiy steps up in key moment

Joventut Badalona registered a 100-77 home victory against Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar in Round 9 of the 7DAYS EuroCup Regular Season. No-one did better than big man Vladimir Brodziansky, who had a EuroCup career-best performance. He finished the game with 31 points, a new career-high, on 13-of-14 free-throw shooting. Brodziansky added 5 rebounds, an assist, a block and 7 fouls drawn for a PIR of 36. He had 12 points in the third quarter, in which Ante Tomic left the game with a double technical foul, to give Joventut an 80-58 margin after 30 minutes.

Defense, focus lead Joventut past Lokomotiv

Joventut Badalona send a message that echoed all around the 7DAYS EuroCup by downing Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar 100-77 in Round 9 of the Regular Season. Joventut's defense made the difference in this game; Lokomotiv made only 21 of 43 two-point shots (48.8% 2FG) and 3 of 15 from downtown (20.0% 3FG). Joventut had much better shooting percentages (55.9% 2FG, 41.9% 3FG) and made 23 of 27 free throws (85.2% FT) and committed just 11 turnovers in what was another big key to this game. Lokomotiv committed 17 turnovers at Palau Olimpic de Badalona.