Laboral Kutxa wins 2014/15 Euroleague Opener

Laboral Kutxa

The Turkish Airlines Euroleague kicked off the 2014/15 season with a win by Laboral Kutxa Vitoria (Spain-Liga Endesa) over Neptunas Klaipeda (Lithuania-LKL), 88-69. The Spanish club took control of the game from the very beginning. They had superior ball movement asserted their game plan. It wasn’t all about their execution on offense. The hosts had 20 assists for the night, while the visitors only had seven. Defensively, Laboral Kutxa made it difficult for Neptunas to get into the flow of their offense. Laboral Kutxa had 11 steals compared to Neptunas’ six. They also recorded three blocks for the game, while Neptunas was not able to get any stops at the rim.

Laboral Kutxa outscored Neptunas 20-15 in the first period and did not look back from there. They managed to keep the Lithuanian team at a comfortable distance, while steadily increasing their lead with each succeeding quarter. David Bertans was the leading scorer for Laboral Kutxa with a game-high 20 points. Thomas Heurtel did an excellent job with his playmaking and ended the game with a double-double, recording 13 points and 10 assists.

Donatas Zavackas led Neptunas with 17 points. Simas Galdikas was the only other player from the team who scored in double figures for Neptunas with 11 points.

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.