Eurocup:EuroChallenge hit halfway mark

Week three of both the Eurocup and EuroChallenge got underway Tuesday with three contests in the Eurocup and 11 in the EuroChallenge. In Eurocup competition, KK Cibona Zagreb had their European Cup losing streak extend to 19 with a loss to Cholet Basket, while Valencia Basket improved to 3-0 on the season with a runaway win over s.Oliver Baskets. In the first batch of EuroChallenge games Pinar Karsiyaka, Krasnye Krylia, BK Ventspils, Gaz Metan Medias and Telekom Baskets all kept their unblemished records with victories. BCM Gravelines lost their first game on the EuroChallenge season as they fell victims to an upset by 0-2 squad Pizza Express Apollon.

Eurocup

Group G
KK Cibona Zagreb – Cholet Basket, 90:95
It was a must-win contest for bot Cibona and Cholet as they came into the third round sitting at the bottom of Group G at 0-2. The hosts were looking to snap an 18-game losing streak in European Cup competition as well. Cholet took control of the contest in the first half, building a 17:21 advantage in the first quarter and then extending that to 11 points at the half, 36:47. Cibona got things going in the third quarter and cut the margin to five by outscoring their visitors 28:22 in the quarter to head into the last frame down five, 64:69. Cibona cut the gap to three at 69:72, but Cholet went on a 1:8 run to push the margin to 10, only to have the hosts counter and pull to within four, 81:85 with two minutes on the clock. Cibona was able to cut it to three, 86:89 with under a minute to play, but the French squad did their job and nailed their singles at the back-end of the game to secure their first win of the season, 90:95. The loss drops KK Cibona Zagreb to 0-3 and sole possession of the cellar in Group G, the win keeps Cholet Basket in the race for the Top 16 at 1-2, only one game out of second.
Top Scorers:
KK Cibona Zagreb: Davor Kus 24; Andrija Zizic 24; Tomislav Zubcic 14; Darryl Strawberry 10.
Cholet Basket: Marcus Goree 20; Travon Bryant 10; A.J. Slaughter 18; Derrick Obasohan 16.

Group B
Belgacom Spirou – KK Buducnost VOLI, 53:66
In impressive 53:66 road win for KK Buducnost moves them into second place in Group B temporarily at 2-1, awaiting the outcome of the Lukoil – Bilbao contest on Wednesday. Spirou falls to 0-3 with hopes dwindling for a shot at the Top 16. The two clubs battled to a 14-all score after the first 10, but VOLI blew the game open in the second outscoring their hosts 11:19 to take a 25:33 lead into the intermission. Buducnost added one to their margin in the third, but Spirou wasn’t finished as they fought back in the fourth to make a game of it. Half-way though the final frame the host squad had cut the margin to six, 50:56, only to have VOLI’s Nikola Ivanivoc put on a three-point shooting exhibition, dropping in three bombs unanswered to slam the door shut on a potential Spirou come-from-behind.
Top Scorers:
Belgacom Spirou: Nikola Jankovic 15; Justin Hamilton 10.
KK Buducnost VOLI: Demarquis Bost 13; Nikola Ivanovic 11; Cedomire Vitkovac 10; Gerald Lee 10.

Group D
Valencia Basket – s.Oliver Baskets, 97:64
Valencia cruised to a 3-0 mark at the midway point of the Eurocup season with a pounding of s.Oliver Baskets, 97:64. The win puts some distance on the bottom half of the group between Valencia as the loss drops s.Oliver to 1-2, sitting ahead of 0-2 BC Azovmash, who has to play 1-1 Banvit BK Bandirma on Wed. The first half of this contest, played in front of an estimated 5,000, was close, with the hosts holding a 44:38 lead at the half. Things fell apart for s.Oliver in the third though, as the Valencia squad poured it on and added 11 to their lead with a 25:14 quarter. There was no letting up in the final 10 as the hosts out-tallied their competition 28:12 and send a message to the rest of the group that they deserve the top spot in Group D. Justin Doellman picked up 31 points and a PIR of 37 on the day to pace all scorers in the Eurocup Tuesday.
Top Scorers:
Valencia Basket: Justin Doellman 31; Bojan Dubljevic 18; Marko Keselj 14.
s.Oliver Baskets: Dwayne Anderson 13; Jason Boone 12; Jimmy McKinney 10.

EuroChallenge

Group A
ETHA – Pinar Karsiyaka, 59:86
Pinar Karsiyaka stayed undefeated in Group A with a decisive road win over ETHA, 59:86. Pinar won every quarter by five points or more as they cruised to a 3-0 record, while pushing ETHA to 0-3 on the season.
Top Scorers:
ETHA: A. McLain 12; D. Poole 11; D. Cup 10.
Pinar Karsiyaka: U. Sonkol 22; R. Dixon 16; A. Aminu 13; E. Buker 10.

Tofas SC – KRKA, 82:79
In the battle of the middle clubs in Group A, Tofas SC needed and extra five minutes to come out with an 82:79 home win over KRKA. The win moves Tofas to 2-1 and second place in the group, while KRKA drops to 1-2 and the third spot. Tofas built a 36:25 advantage heading into the locker room at halftime, only to squander it in the third when KRKA outgunned them 8:17 in the third frame to give the hosts a 44:42 margin heading into the last quarter. Tofas moved out to a 59:55 lead with 2:28 to play, but a pair of charity tosses and a deuce as the result of a turnover knotted the contest at 59 with 1:25 remaining. KRKA took the lead with 38 clicks left on a trey by D. Lorbek, but S. Burtt of Tofas covered it with triple of his own seven seconds later to pull the clubs even at 62. KRKA had a shot with eight seconds left, but missed and Burtt got off a three at the buzzer that missed, sending the game into an extra five. The overtime frame certainly won’t win any awards for defensive effectiveness as the two clubs combined to score 37 points (more than they combined to score in the first and third, and one point less than they combined in the second and fourth). Midway through the OT Tofas has amassed a six-point margin on free throws and fast break lay-ups. A deuce by KRKA and then a three-ball by Tofas put the game away with 58 seconds left and a seven-point advantage. KRKA was able to cut the gap to three with 12 seconds to play, but Tofas nailed their free throws down the stretch to hold on to a three-point win and the second spot in the group.
Top Scorers:
Tofas SC: A. Nichols 10; S. Burtt 10; T. Ruzic 11; I. Koc 10.
KRKA: D. Lorbek 18; J. Vladovic 13; U. Lucic 11.

Group B
Joensuun Kataja – Krasnye Krylia, 86:96
Krasnye Krylia stayed perfect on the season and in the top slot of Group B with a 10-point road win over Joensuun Kataja. Kataja did all they could to bridge the gap in the final frame, outscoring their visitors 34:17 in the final 10 minutes to cut the deficit to 10.
Top Scorers:
Joensuun Kataja: J. Flowers 22; J. Terrell 16; J. Smith 12; A Kanervo 10.
Krasnye Krylia: E. Kolesnikov 19; J. Massey 18; O. Thomas 16; N. Balashov 14; C. Simmons 10.

Group C
Södertälje Kings – BK Ventspils, 80:82
The top two squads of Group C got together in Sweden and put on a thrilling show for the Kings’ fans, unfortunately the hosts couldn’t hit the clutch shot down the stretch after battling back from a deficit and narrowly missed knocking off the top club of their group. The loss drops Sodertalje to 1-2 on the season, while Ventspils improves to 3-0. The home club jumped out to a lead in the first, outscoring their visitors 22:17 in the initial frame. Heading into the intermission they still held onto the lead having bumped it by win with a 19:18 second quarter score and 41:35 tally at halftime. Ventspils needed less than three minutes in the third quarter to take the lead, but the clubs exchanged the lead for the rest of the quarter, with the Kings coming out up by one heading into the last period, 63:62. Ventspils took control early in the last 10 and built a seven-point advantage with 4:14 to play, only to have the hosts cut it to two with just under three minutes left. Ventspils got six unanswered to push back to eight points with a minute 55 left, but Sodertalje roared back to pull to within two with 22 ticks on the board remaining. The hosts forced a turnover and Agnis Cavars got a shot off with 11 seconds, missed, got his own rebound and put it back up, only to miss again, J. Roberson got that rebound and kicked it to T. Borg for the triple attempt at the horn, which came up short. A key stat in the contest was free throw percentage, the Kings connected on 11 of 18 (61.2%), while Ventspils dropped in 11 of 12 (91.7%). Ventspils also out rebounded their hosts 35-38. Sodertalje had a relatively clean game, only committing eight turnovers, compared to 14 for Ventspils
Top Scorers:
Södertälje Kings: D. Pita 20; T. Borg 16; T. Bizaca 16; K. Simms 14.
BK Ventspils: F. Cambell 19; D. Sims 16; S. Valters 16; M. Meiers 11; A. Berzins 10.

Group D
Gaz Metan Medias – Khimik, 88:86
Gaz Metan Medias was no doubt planning on heading into an extra five at the end of the their barn burner with Khimik at home as D. Joseph stepped to the line for the visitors for two free throws with seven seconds to play and down by two. Fortunately for Gaz Metan, Joseph missed his first, tried to miss the second for a shot at the rebound and another shot at tying or winning the contest with a three-pointer, but the hosts snagged the rebound and sole possession of the top slot in Group D with the 88:86 win. Entering the game the two clubs were tied at 2-0, with the win GMM takes a 3-0 record into the second half of the season and Khimik falls to 2-1 and a tie with Tartu Rock, who beat JDA Dijon on Tuesday to improve to 2-1 as well.
Top Scorers:
Gaz Metan Medias: T. Nicoara 21; I. Ivanovic 17; D. Mitchell 17; R. Mandache 12; S. Dundjerski 10.
Khimik: W. Deane 26; S. Lesic 17; S. Sehovic 16; S. Zavadskyi 11.

Tartu Rock – JDA Dijon, 74:62
In the contest of the two squads in Group D without a win, Tartu Rock came out with a 1-2 record after cruising to a solid 74:62 victory over the now 0-3 JDA Dijon club. Tartu jumped out to a 21:16 lead after the first quarter and never gave up the advantage as they played solid basketball on both ends of the court for the duration. The win moves them into third place behind the 2-1 Khimik, who they host in Round 4. JDA will play host to the top club, Gaz Metan Medias in the next round in a make-or-break contest for the French club.
Top Scorers:
Tartu Rock: I. Nelyubov 15; J. Ingram 14; K. Saage 13; T. Kurbas 11.
JDA Dijon: Z. Moss 16; T. Campbell 10.

Group E
BCMU Pitesti – Mons-Hainaut, 73:78
The hosts found themselves down by eight at the half and as much as 13 late in the third quarter, but fought back to take the lead midway through the fourth quarter and be down by two with 18 seconds left, only to come up short in their attempt at their first win on the season. The loss moves BCMU to 0-3 on the season while improving Mons-Hainaut to 2-1 and into a three-way tie for the top spot after Paris pounded Okapi Aalstar to give both of those clubs identical 2-1 records. Okapi takes on BCMU at home next week, while Paris-Levallois travels to Belgium to square off against Mons-Hainaut.
Top Scorers:
BCMU Pitesti: A. Gennie 21; P. Barac 20; D. Albijanic 12.
Mons-Hainaut: J. Bostic 16; Q. Taylor 15; M. Randle 14; J. Wallace 11.

Okapi Aalstar – Paris Levallois, 76:86
Paris Levallois used an 0:10 run starting with 4:34 remaining and down 70:65 to take a 70:75 lead with 2:28 to play to knock Okapi Aalstar from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 76:86 win on the road. The loss for Okapi evens them with both Paris Levallois and Mons-Hainaut with 2-1 records at the midway point on the season. Paris got 25 points and 10 rebounds from Jawad Williams in the win.
Top Scorers:
Okapi Aalstar: T. Dreesen 17; D. Raivio 16; S. Clark 13; L. Anderson 12; I. Tofi 12.
Paris Levallois: J. Williams 25; A. Diot 21; S. May 19.

Group F
BC Timisoara – Szolnoki Olaj, 80:93
Szolnoki Olaj took their contingent on the road to Romania to match up with BC Timisoara in a contest between the middle of the group clubs. Szolnoki Olaj controlled the contest from start to finish to come away with the second spot in the group with a 2-1 record, while Timisoara now drops to 1-2 and the third spot. EWE Baskets Oldenburg and Lami-Ved Kormend hit the hardwood on Wednesday in Oldenburg to finish the contests for Group F on the week.
Top Scorers:
BC Timisoara: Z. Jovanovic 22; D. Archie 14; D. Johnson 10.
Szolnoki Olaj: B. Simon 20; E. Kalve 19; M. Bader 14 (11 rebounds); B. Gay 13; M. Fodor 10.

Group G
Apollon – BCM Gravelines, 89:88
BCM Gravelines headed into Cyprus carrying a perfect 2-0 record and sitting all alone at the top of Group G, while their hosts, Pizza Express Apollon, were at the other end of the group sporting a 0-2 mark and occupying the cellar. It came down to the wire, they put on a show for the fans they drew in and when the dust had settled, Apollon had tossed out both their ‘0’ in the win column and Gravelines ‘0’ in the loss column with a thrilling 89:88 win. The first half was tight with neither team getting much breathing room at any time, coming in to the intermission with a one-point Apollon advantage, 41:40. The hosts used a 12:2 run to close out the third frame to build a 10-point gap heading into the last quarter. After letting Apollon tally the first three in the fourth, Gravelines charged back with in impressive scoring run of their own, scoring 13 unanswered points to tie the game at 76 with just under eight minutes to play. Apollon didn’t let their visitors take the lead until Cyril Akpomedah dropped in a three-pointer with 26 seconds to play to put Gravelines up by one, 87:88. Apollon’s D. Noel got fouled with 11 clicks left, stepped up to the charity stripe and sank two singles to put the hosts back up by one, 89:88. Gravelines had plenty of time to get a good shot off, but Dave Buycks’ triple attempt was off the mark and the Frenchmen found themselves knocked from the roster of clubs without a defeat at the midway point of the season.
Top Scorers:
Apollon: B. Brown 28; D. Kapelan 17.
BCM Gravelines: D. Buycks 22; J. Johnson 15; Y. Bokolo 11; C. Akpomedah 10; L. Vaty 10.

Tsmoki-Minsk – SLUC Nancy, 78:71
Tsmoki-Minsk jumps to the second slot in Group G with a hard-fought 78:71 win over visiting SLUC Nancy. The hosts took a five-point advantage into the intermission, after the clubs battled to a 17-all score in the first frame. The third was also knotted, this time at 21, putting Minsk up 60:55 heading into the final 10. Nancy’s K. Grant tallied a three-ball to open scoring in the fourth, to pull to within two, but P. Ulyanko found an opening in the lane to drop in a lay-up to push the gap back to four. M. Sommerville dropped in a deuce to again cut the margin to two, but J. Smith hit the bottom of the cords with the triple for Minsk and team-mate N. Munson dropped in a jumper shortly after to give the home squad a seven-point lead mid-way through the quarter. The visitors countered with a three-ball and a deuce of their own to bring the contest back to two. A. Kudrautsau hit a three, followed by a Ulyanko dunk with just over three minutes to play to give Minsk another seven point lead. Nancy was able to get to within three with 19 seconds left, but Kudrautsau dropped in a pair of singles and then closed out the scoring with a jumper at buzzer.
Top Scorers:
Tsmoki-Minsk: Kudrautsau 23; J. Smith 13.
SLUC Nancy: M. Sommerville 15; K. Grant 11; H. Toure 10.

Group H
Telekom Baskets – Armia, 75:71
When the Telekom Baskets squad took the floor, they knew they had beaten the two clubs that had already handed the visiting Georgians two decisive losses on the early EuroChallenge season. Those two wins placed the boys from Bonn firmly in the top spot in Group H, while Armia sat at the bottom of the group sporting an 0-2 record. Fortunately for Telekom, it all worked out in the end, but things started to look ugly when the visitors put up 26 points in the first quarter, while holding Telekom to 16. Not only that, but they did it by tallying the first 11 points and holding their hosts scoreless for nearly three and a half minutes. As the second frame started, it was the same story, Armia dropped in a deuce and then a triple before Telekom could find the bottom of the cords and the visitors had built a 17-point lead with nine minutes left in the half. Patrick Ewing, Jr., the son of legendary New York Knicks star, Patrick Ewing, Sr., killed the scoring drought with a jumper and started an impressive comeback by the hosts. On the next trip down the hardwood Ewing rattled the backboard with a dunk, then Kyle Weems got involved with two long-balls and a deuce. At the end of it all, Telekom had put up 12 unanswered and cut the gap to five, 26:31. Armia extended the lead to nine before David McCray cut it back to seven with a jumper right before the halftime buzzer. As the squads took their mid-game break the visitors were hanging on to a seven-point margin, 32:39. After what was most likely a rather lively discussion in the host dressing room, they came out inspired and knocked down the first 12 points of the second half, to take the lead 44:39 with 6:44 left in the quarter. The rest of the period was exchanging baskets and at the horn Telekom was up 57:55 with one regulation column left in the score book. The host crowd no doubt didn’t appreciate the thrilling nature of the last 10 minutes, but they got their moneys worth as the entire fourth quarter was tight. Telekom held on to a slight lead until Armia pulled even with 50 seconds left on a Curtis Millage lay-up. Both teams missed shots in the last seconds and with six clicks remaining, Robert Vaden was fouled. He missed both free throws, but Chris Ensminger grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled, putting him on the line with the same six seconds to play and the same knotted up score at 71. Ensminger hit both of his singles, to give the hosts a two-point lead. When Armia brought the ball in for their attempt to tie or win the contest, Giorgi Gamqrelidze was fouled with three seconds left, but missed both charity tosses and Telekom secured their 3-0 record.
Top Scorers:
Telekom Baskets: Weems 17; Ensminger 15; Vaden 11; Wohlfarth-Bottermann11; B. Veikalas 10.
Armia: C. Millage 23; L. Wilson 14.

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