Jasaitis, Brown lead Lokomotiv Kuban past Valencia 97-87

PBC Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar struck first in the two-game Eurocup Semifinals by downing Valencia Basket 87-97 in the opener in Spain on Wednesday. Lokomotiv takes a 10-point lead into the deciding game next week in Krasnodar, Russia. The aggregate winner will move on to the Eurocup Final next month in Charleroi, Belgium. Simas Jasaitis led the winners with 23 points on a Eurocup semifinals record 7 three-pointers. Derrick Brown added 19 points, Mantas Kalnietis scored 17, Richard Hendrix 14 and Nick Calathes contributed 8 points and 9 assists. Justin Doellman paced Valencia with 28 points, Pau Ribas added 20 points and Bojan Dubljevic 17. Lokomotiv got off to a strong start and a three-pointer by Jasaitis gave his team a 5-13 lead. Valencia improved off a timeout, but Calathes and Aleks Maric allowed the guests to get an 8-point lead after 10 minutes. Dubljevic shined early in the second quarter and a 6-0 run that Doellman capped with a layup forced the guests to call timeout at 38-39. Sergey Bykov and Kalnietis helped Lokomotiv stay ahead, 43-45, at halftime. Doellman and Ribas completed Valencia's comeback, 50-49, right after the break. It didn't last long, however, as Kalnietis led a 2-15 run that put Lokomotiv ahead for good, 52-64. Hendrix and Jasaitis boosted the guests' lead to 58-76 after 30 minutes. Lokomotiv led by 18 with five minutes left before Ribas, Doellman and Rodrigo San Miguel carried Valencia to within 87-91. Back-to-back three-pointers by Jasaitis allowed Lokomotiv to cruise to a well-deserved win.