NIZHNY NOVGOROD (Russia) - SIG Strasbourg were without their injured star point guard Brandon Jefferson, but still put up a magnificent fight against Casademont Zaragoza in the battle for third place. Spanish team used a late run to finally put some distance between themselves and the opponents, the game finished 89-77.

Casademont Zaragoza climbed one spot compared to 2020, when they lost to another French team, JDA Dijon, at the Final 8 in Athens. SIG Strasbourg were the Cinderella team of the event, their performances earned them a number of new fans in Russia.

Turning point: Zaragoza were in front for all but three minutes of the game, but could not break SIG Strasbourg's resistance until the game went into the last four minutes. MVP of the Season Bonzie Colson hit a three-pointer in transition to make it 74-70, and Zaragoza's response was as close as it gets to perfection.

Dylan Ennis punished all the traps and double-teams, either with drives or with assists, Zaragoza scored with ease, putting up 15 points in last four minutes, sealing the deal while avoiding the last minute drama this time around.

Stats don't lie: Points in the paint hurt SIG Strasbourg again. Zaragoza were +16 in that department, while also winning the rebounding battle by 7.

Game hero: If Zaragoza made it all the way, Dylan Ennis would've been the MVP of the Final 8. He went all-round in the battle for third, 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting with four three-pointers made, 9 assists and 5 rebounds.

Bottom line: For Casademont Zaragoza, this could be the best available finish to the season. They are outside of the Play-Offs picture in Spain with two Regular Season games to play. SIG Strasbourg still have a lot of work ahead of them, they will have to play 12 more LNB ProA games before the Play-Offs even start. But they are looking good domestically, one defeat behind second-placed Dijon at the moment.

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