Eurocup Round 6 of Regular Season

Eurocup Round 6We are deep into the competition now as the Eurocup Round 6 brought another week of action to the continents second biggest club competition. There were plenty of thrills through the two days, and the odd spill too as only two teams now remain unbeaten, one of them booking passage to the Last 32, the first club from this season’s tournament to do so.

Group A
Paris Levallois leap frogged CAI Zaragoza with a 90-87 home win during the Eurocup Round 6 to move 4th in Group A with a 3-3 record, while Zaragoza stays fifth (2-4). Mike Green paced Paris with 17 points and 8 rebounds and started the game on fire to take a 29-15 lead for the home team through 10 minutes. The Spanish visitors responded courtesy of a 4-16 run in the second to cut the lead at halftime (44-43). The hosts used a 7-0 run in the third to make it 70-63 at 30 minutes, but Zaragoza made it tight, moving to within a basket in the final quarter before the French team took the win.

Brose Baskets Bamberg maintained its good form with a 75-61 home win over Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia, putting them 4-2 in second place while Emilia props up the table (1-5). The Italians took the first quarter with a 16-21 score line after 10 minutes and weathered a Bamberg fight back to hold a 36-38 cushion at the midway point. The hosts shored up at the back in the third quarter and used a 10-0 run to seize control of the scoreboard, making it 57-47 through three quarters. A formality of a fourth followed as the Germans cruised to victory.

Strasbourg held on to sole possession of 1st place in the group with a 76-48 demolition job over Telekom Baskets Bonn in France. The club now holds a commanding 5-1 record, but Bonn lives to fight another day at 3-3. The Germans actually took the early lead, winning an edgy first stint 14-16. Strasbourg reversed the deficit and added two points in a 17-13 second stanza to lead 31-29 at the halftime buzzer. From there the hosts never looked back as Bonn fell apart; Strasbourg won the third 21-13 and the fourth 24-6 to win the game without having to leave second gear.

Group B
ASVEL Lyon moved to 3-3 in Group B with a snatch and grab 84-83 victory over visiting Artland Dragons, with the Germans now struggling with a 1-5 record. Lyon, under the stewardship of new head coach Nordine Ghirb set the early pace with a 28-23 run in the opening frame. The Dragons hit back in the second (16-20) to make it a one point game through halftime, the board reading 44-43. ASVEL took the initiative in the third with a big 25-16 run and had put enough points on the board to just about edge out a 15-24 fight back from Artland Dragons in the final act.

Gran Canaria remained unbeaten with a 6-0 record and because the first team through to the next round with a convincing 63-80 road win over Italian club FoxTown Cantu. The Eurocup Round 6 clash put Cantu bottom of Group B with a 1-5 record. The Spanish visitors led from start to finish as they used a big 23-41 first half (10-22 and 13-19) lead to ease through a comfortable winning third (17-18), before seeing off FoxTown despite a slender loss in the fourth frame.

Telenet Ostend stayed in the hunt for qualification with an 80-71 home success over JDA Dijon in Belgium. The hosts now sit on a 3-3 record, while French club Dijon still looks good in second place with a 4-2 showing. A 22-19 winning opening 10 minutes gave Ostend a good platform, but the second stanza proved decisive as they held Dijon to just 4 points and scored 18 at the other end. It was enough for a convincing 40-23 lead at the long break, and even though the French club hit back in the second, Ostend never looked in doubt.

Group C
Czech powerhouse CES Nymburk maintained its recent momentum with an 89-80 home grab over SLUC Nancy, a win that put them second in Group C with a 4-2 record. Nancy on the other hand will still feel confident of a Last 32 berth as the club also holds a 4-2 record. Another big second quarter became a defining part of a game this week as the hosts built on their 21-19 first quarter success with a big 28-21 run in the second (49-40). SLUC Nancy edged the third frame 17-18, but Nymburk reversed that in the fourth to maintain the lead it had built in the first half at the final buzzer.

Virtus Roma remained the team to beat in Group C as the Italian club scored a century of points on the way to crushing Proximus Spirou Charleroi 100-69 in the Eternal City. The first quarter brought an 8 point winning margin for the hosts as they moved to a 23-15 lead through 10 minutes. The Rome contingent extended through the second quarter with a 27-22 run to make it 50-37 at the midway buzzer. A 20-19 winning third followed and Virtus made sure they won every split with a big 30-13 streak in the final act to win the game in cruise control.

Spanish club Baloncanesta Seville moved to 3-3 and into a qualification place while resigning EWE Baskets Oldenburg to a 1-5 record thanks to a 68-59 home success. The home team made the early going during the opening exchanges and led 17-14 at buzzer one. The teams could not be split as they went bucket for bucket through the second frame, tying 14 apiece (31-28). Oldenburg made it interesting heading into the fourth quarter by winning the third 16-21, making it 47-49 at the last interval. Seville rallied behind its home support to put together a game winning 21-10 run in the fourth term.

Group D
Union Olimpija Ljubljana fell hard at home to a Besiktas blitz as the Turkish club came away with a 57-80 win to stay atop Group D with a 5-1 record. Union Olimpija is still well poised at 4-2. The Istanbul outfit signalled their intentions from the opening tip off and through Q1 opened a 14-24 lead. The double digit advantage would serve the team well as the visitors extended their lead to 30-42 at the long break. A winning 12-14 run in the third confirmed that Besiktas had too much on the day and the team swept Union Olimpija aside in the fourth quarter with a big 15-24 effort.

Zenit St. Petersburg put itself in contention with a second consecutive win, this time a cruising 81-61 home win over Szolnoki Olaj. The routine victory started with a tight first quarter where the teams traded until Zenit led 17-16 at the buzzer. In the second the hosts took the momentum and poured in 28 points to make it 45-26 at halftime. Olaj had little reply as the Russian club took the third 23-18, although the visitors did snatch the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late.

Khimky Moscow Region shook off the loss to Zenit last week to travel to Latvia and gun down VEF Riga 79-86 in their own backyard. The win moved the Moscow club to a 4-2 record in Group D, while Riga look unlikely to make the Last 32 from 1-5. Khimky set the early pace to control the first frame and carve out a 14-23 lead at the 10 minute stop. In the second period the scoring picked up from both sides, but the Russians had the last laugh with a 22-30 run. With a 36-54 halftime score the visitors dictated the hardwood, but Riga soon found touch and won the third frame 18-12 before making it interesting down the stretch with a 25-20 run in the fourth.

Group E
Hapoel Jerusalem welcomed Turkish club Banvit Bandirma to Israel and promptly gifted the away team a 78-82 win. The Turkish outfit moved to a 5-1 record and looks good for qualification, while Jerusalem has it all to do from 1-5. Banvit has been in good form in the Eurocup this season and showed it again in the first quarter, winning the stint 18-21. Hapoel reversed the score exactly in the second quarter to make it a tied game through halftime, 39-39. The hosts looked to have wrestled control of the game after winning Q3 21-17, but Bandirma found the buckets when it mattered to romp through the final period 18-26.

Partizan NIS Belgrade has been reviving its season over recent weeks, but the Eurocup seems a step too far as the Serbian powerhouse fell 76-85 at home to Lithuanian heavyweight Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius. The Lithuanians now sit atop Group E with a 5-1 record, while Partizan needs a miracle to recover from a 1-5 record. The Vilnius based club outfought a dogged home team in the first quarter, much to the charging of the crowd. Lietuvos Rytas built on their 16-18 first quarter lead with a 16-20 flurry in the second to put the scoreboard on 32-38 during the halftime stop. A big scoring third term saw the team lock at 26 apiece before the visitors edged the fourth quarter to win the game.

CSU Asesoft Ploiesti has lost two on the spin as the Romanians slipped at home 79-96 to Krasny Oktyabr Volgograd. The Russian club moved to 3-3, joining their hosts on the same record. The Romanians started the game the better team with a 26 points haul in the first quarter giving them a six point lead. In the second act Krasny peppered the bucket to the tune of 31 points, bettering the home team by 13 on the way to a 44-51 halftime lead. Another high scoring effort from the visitors saw a 17-26 run attained in the third stanza before the Volgograd contingent weathered a mini comeback to claim a comfortable win in the dying minutes.

Group F
Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar stayed undefeated with a convincing 78-68 home win over Polish club Stelmet Zielona Gora, the Eurocup’s last club without a win. The visitors shocked the home crowd in the first quarter by snatching the period 16-17, before the Polish outfit extended with an impressive 23-28 winning second (39-45). Lokomotiv emerged for the third quarter in better form and won the 10 minutes 26-11 to take control of the game before killing the flow with a 13-12 low scoring final quarter.

Pinar Karsiyaka Izmir travelled to Greece and defeated PAOK Thessaloniki 74-79 to improve its record to 4-2 this season, while PAOK sits on an equal footing. The Greeks set the early tone with a 24-20 first quarter, a points total they matched in the second quarter but were this time joined by Izmir (45-41 at halftime). In the third act PAOK seemed to have wrapped the game with a solid 20-16 winning stanza, but the visitors exploded with a 9-22 fourth period to shock the home club and leave with the win.

Buducnost Voli Podgorica got back to winning ways with a comfortable 87-69 home win over Ventspils of Latvia. While the away team took the lead after 10 minutes (17-18), Buducnost soon got into the game and used the second quarter to take a 46-41 lead into the long break. The hosts extended with a 24-18 run in the third act and then wrapped the game in style with a 17-10 burst in the last stanza.

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