Avtodor lose second leg to Keravnos but advance with aggregate win!
Avtodor Saratov received a scare in the second leg of their Basketball Champions League Qualification Round 1 tie with Keravnos on Thursday but made enough plays down the stretch to stay alive in the competition.
Keravnos won by 4️⃣ in ?? but @AvtodorSaratov clinch a spot in #BasketballCL Qualification Round 2 thanks to their 11-point victory in ??!
After winning the opening leg in Cyprus on Tuesday, 83-72, the Russian club returned home full of confidence yet trailed 59-48 midway through the fourth quarter.
Earvin Morris, with Avtodor looking to make it back to the Regular Season of the competition for the second year in a row, then calmed the home fans’ nerves with a 3-pointer.
After Keravnos hit back with a pair of free-throws from Tre Bussey, one of the Russian side’s stars from last season, Branden Frazier, was fouled while scoring on a drive to the basket and made the free-throw for a 3-point play.
Keravnos got no closer than two points on aggregate the rest of the way.
While the visitors walked off the court with a 67-63 second-leg victory, Avtodor progressed with a 146-139 triumph over the two legs. Frazier led all scorers with 17 points.
Avtodor will now take on Mornar Bar in the Qualification Round 2, with the first leg in Russia on Sunday. In the inaugural edition of the Basketball Champions League in 2016-17, Mornar Bar made it through a Qualification Round and competed in the Regular Season.
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