Avtodor Saratov blow off steam against SL Benfica

SARATOV (FIBA Europe Cup) - Avtodor Saratov waved goodbye to the FIBA Europe Cup by dismantling the visiting SL Benfica in the last game of the Regular Season to finish third in the Group B standings.

The Russian side unleashed a one-sided 110-71 beating and improved to a 3-3 record, while leaving the Portuguese side at the bottom of the table with a 1-5 mark.

Turning Point: The game tilted Avtodor's way the very moment the teams stepped on the court, with the hosts building a 7-0 lead in the opening 70 seconds of the game and establishing a 15-point lead by the end of the opening frame.

Game Hero: There was no need for a hero in Saratov's lopsided thrashing, but the team's captain Artem Klimenko enjoyed a solid outing with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and 6 rebounds. He also led the team in the plus/minus category, with Avtodor outscoring Benfica by 25 points with him on the court.

Stats Don't Lie: It was hard to expect a closer fixture, given the fact that SL Benfica went just 1-of-22 from three-point range, which equals to a measly 4.6% conversion rate. On the other side of the court, Avtodor made 11-of-22 long-range attempts.

Bottom Line: With both teams already eliminated from contention for the Second Round, there was very little other than pride on the line on Tuesday. However, an emphatic win like this will raise even more questions about Avtodor underachieving against their other group rivals Bakken Bears and Nevezis.

They Said: "We played good defense and started to control the game from the jump ball to force Benfica into mistakes on offense. We forced them to play the way we wanted. We managed to achieve a double-digit advantage in the first two minutes. After that we were just increasing the gap with our large rotation." - Avtodor captain Artem Klimenko

FIBA