The reigning EuroCup champion struggled after a vintage performance in the opening two quarters against its French opponent.
Gran Canaria survived against Bourg despite poor second-half offense
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Dreamland Gran Canaria kept its unbeaten Group B record intact and improved to 4-0 after a labored 84-76 home win over Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse on Wednesday night. However, the visitors dropped to 3-1 as they paid the price for soft first-half defense and awful shooting from the foul line.
Gran Canaria fired on all cylinders throughout the opening 20 minutes, having led 56-41 at halftime as Ben Lammers poured in 15 points, 13 of them in the first quarter. The home side had amassed 14 assists and committed only 6 turnovers, having also racked up 21 boards.
Gran Canaria's offensive problems
Granca appeared set for some plain sailing after taking a 69-46 lead in the third quarter, but its offense then came to a screeching halt. The home side saw its massive advantage whittled down to just 6 points, 82-76, in the closing stages, as Bourg’s aggressive half-court pressure bore fruit.
Too little too late, though, given that the visitors hit a mere 9-of-19 free throws, which overshadowed their relatively sound performance from three-point range (7-of-19) and two-point territory (23-of-40).
The home team, which sank just 5-of-21 shots from beyond the three-point arc, prevailed thanks to rock-solid rebounding (44 boards, 16 offensive) and sharing the ball (19 assists). That was complemented by 11 steals, which made up for 19 turnovers and poor second-half shooting from two-point territory (9-of-20) after Gran Canaria hit 17-of-23 shots in the first half.
Last but not least, Bourg also paid the price for having more turnovers (18) than assists (16), having also been inferior in the paint as the visiting team collected a modest 27 rebounds (7 offensive).