Deep roster carries Gran Canaria past battling Slask

Gran Canaria expectedly came out on top against Slask Wroclaw on Wednesday night, winning 79-91 on the road. What ultimately made the difference was the deeper roster available to Gran Canaria head coach Jaka Lakovic, as his team closed out a game that hung in the balance until the last few minutes.
Although the Group B leader missed some of its key players, notably the versatile AJ Slaughter, the Spanish side had too much for its Polish rival down the stretch.
Gran Canaria dominated the paint at Centennial Hall, racking up 43 rebounds, 16 of which were on the offensive end, compared to the 32 collected by Slask. The visitors also dished out an impressive 25 assists, nine more than the home side’s total of 16.
Khalifa Diop (17 points) and Nicolas Brussino (11) grabbed 9 rebounds each, while Ferran Bassas had 7 assists to underline the vast array of options available to Gran Canaria.
In addition, 11 of Gran Canaria’s 12 players got on the scoresheet, led by David Mutaf on 19 points, as the Turkish forward showed impeccable shot selection, having nailed 2-of-3 three-pointers and 5-of-8 of his efforts from inside the arc.
With Aleksander Balcerowksi adding 12 points and Vitor Benite 10, Gran Canaria made good use of all its options against a resilient Slask team, whose center Aleksander Dziewa stood out with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Slask was in it until the final few minutes as Jeremiah Martin and Conor Morgan chipped in with 17 and 11 points, respectively, but Slask’s bench produced preciously little against a more resourceful Gran Canaria.