Lokomotiv Kuban facing elimination from Eurocup at Limoges
One of the title contenders in the Eurocup every season, the Russians from Krasnodar are now on the edge. After 4 consecutive losses in the competition, Lokomotiv Kuban has to win today in France in order to stay alive. With a new coach and the roster strengthened with the presence of Mindauskas Kuzminskas, they have the 1st chance today.
Lokomotiv Kuban has to win this game because:
- Limoges has recently lost their main scorer (16 ppg.) and best assist-man (7.8 apg.), the point guard Semaj Christon which will affect the team a lot
- Lokomotiv Kuban is a very experienced squad, having in their roster many Euroleague level players who can make the real difference in such a derby (Will Cummings, Mantas Kalnietis, Johnny O’Bryant). From the bench, a couple of local players can come up and help the team (Vitaly Fridzon, Dmitry Kulagin and so on). The rotation is an important element giving a huge advantage to the Russian squad.
- The fact that the added Mindauskas Kuzminskas and the firing of the Luca Banchi are the best proofs that the club is trying to be in the European elite. They invested a lot of money and they normally won’t be satisfied with the loss of the qualification in the Eurocup Top16.
- even if they will lose today, Limoges still has a good chance to qualify because of their tie advantage over Rytas
- the motivation of Lokomotiv has to be very high because this is the most important game of the season till now. In the weekend, they have proved their new attitude smashing Kalev Cramo in VTB League with 87-63.
The long journey made by the Russians to arrive at Limoges can be their only brake. But concentration and the difference between the levels of the teams will be the decisive factors in this crucial game.
Photo: eurocupbasketball.com
Gratian Cormos
