FIBA Basketball Champions League: Group A through C recap
Round 8 of the FIBA Basketball Champions League got underway on Tuesday and there was plenty of action in Group A to C. There were big wins for Nymburk and Monaco in Group A, while Venezia, Karsiyaka, and Kataja celebrated in Group B. Big wins came to PAOK, Neptunas, and Asvel in Group C.
Group A
The woes of the Bakken Bears continued on the road at CEZ Nymburk as the hosts destroyed the Danish club 114-70. Nymburk moved to third place with a 5-3 record, while Bakken props the table with 1-7. Vojtech Hruban topped the winning effort with 28 points as the Czech champs scored 57 points in both halves to sweep aside the bears.
Monaco stayed top of the standings at 7-1 with a 64-70 road win over Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt in Germany. The French club trailed 34-33 through the long break, but made a push in the third act to make it 47-50 after thirty minutes. With the momentum, the guests saw out the game in the fourth to keep up its impressive record.
Group B
Umana Reyer Venezia took out Le Mans 74-62 in a comfortable home win to move to 6-2 on the same record as the French club at the top of Group B. The hosts were down 29-36 at halftime, but went big with a 28-11 third act that changed the course of the game. The fourth quarter was a cruise as Hrvoje Peric finished with 21 points in the win.
Pinar Karisyaka Izmir passed CSM Oradea easily at home and collected a 79-50 home success. The hosts made it count in the first half and headed into the long break with a commanding 42-19 advantage. Oradea improved in the second half, but not by enough to make it anything but a formality for Karsiyaka.
Maccabi Rand Media fell at home to Kataja Basket, with the visitors securing a 69-88 victory. Rion Brown was sensational in the victory as he powered to 40 points and 7 rebounds. The win put Kataja 4-4 in fourth place in Group B, while Rishon now slips to 3-5.
Group C
Neptunas broke a century of points on the way to beating Usak Sportif 103-88 in Klaipeda. The hosts actually trailed 22-26 at the first split, but in the second quarter drained 38 points on the way to a 60-44 advantage at halftime. That 60 points first half was huge and allowed the home team to coast through the second half.
PAOK looked strong at home and won by 19 points over Rosa Radom. The hosts collected an 85-66 win that was spurred by a strong first period and closing act. The bookended performance started with 32 points in the first quarter and ended with 22 points in the fourth.
Asvel Lyon moved to 6-2 behind Neptunas with an 86-70 win over Varese. The hosts broke 20 points in each of the first three quarters to secure a 68-50 lead through thirty quarters. Varese was unable to rally in the fourth and the French hosts eased to victory.