The Saturday evening game between the Latvian side Kraukli and Russian side Project 44 got the ball rolling in the ESBA Promo Championship in Liepaja, as the visitors from Moscow marked the opening game with a remarkable comeback win.
Despite trailing by as many as 20 points in the first half, the guests turned the game upside down to triumph 73-61 in the opening game of the M40/45 category and the whole tournament as well.
Kraukli were led by Armands Alksnis in the early going, who had collected a double-double already midway through the second quarter. Leading 39-19, the Latvian team seemed well in control of the game, but an 8-0 run for Project 44 saw the gap melt to 12 points by the halftime break.
An inspired Russian side continued their comeback in the third quarter, going on an impressive 16-0 run to turn a 45-34 deficit into a 50-45 advantage in a matter of six minutes. During the stretch, Sergey Ivanov scored nine points, while Alexander Kuznetsov added seven.
Having gained the control of the game, Project 44 continued to punish their opponents with outside shooting and good hustle inside, sailing home with the win relatively comfortably after Kraukli experienced an unthinkable collapse in the second half.
Kuznetsov led all scorers with 31 points, while Ivanov added a very solid double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds. The only other player in double-digits for Project 44 was Vladimir Gaikovich with 10 points.
For Kraukli, Viktors Kulackovskis had 25 points, Alksnis scored 18 points and grabbed 23 rebounds, with Armands Cernevskis adding seven points for the losing side.
Highlights from the game:
