The London Lions ease into the last 16of this season’s EuroCup, brushing aside a limited Bursa Uludag squad inLondon.
Stella Kaltsidou’s side won the tie convincinglyover the two gameS and will now play Spain’s Gernika Bizkaia in January.
Returning home to the Copper Box Arena onWorld Basketball Day, the London Lions pulled off a well-rounded performance toprogress seamlessly into the next round of this season’s EuroCup play-offs.
With the British side already coming intothe game with a 24-point aggregate lead, the task was a tough one for Bursa – wholost the game by 122-63.
As expected, the Lions started the matchfast and quickly built a 10-0 lead thanks to clinical shooting from KatSnytsina. The Belarusian small forward was in a league of her own on the night,leading the home side in scoring with 20 points.
Karlie Samuelson collaborated well withSnytsina throughout the first quarter as the Lions scored 12 answered points toincrease the deficit to 22-4 near the halfway mark of the quarter.
The hosts closed the opening 10 minutes ona 32-8 run, following up with 39 extra points in the second quarter.
With the game seemingly in the bag andprogression into the Round of 16 almost decided by halftime, Coach Kaltisdourotated the squad to keep all her players fresh as the Lions remainedprofessional in the second half.
Despite the large margin of defeat for theTurkish side, Channon Fluker still managed to put up 27 points against a strongLions side and lead the game in scoring.
The London Lions will now look forward to theirRound of 16 clash against Gernika Bizkaia. The first leg will take place inSpain on January 10th, before returning home to the Copper Box onJanuary 18th.
Watch thefull game here
