EuroChallenge: Three clinch Last 16 spots
EuroChallenge 2013 had a busy day on Tuesday with 14 games on the schedule. After the dust had settled and the scores tallied, three clubs (Pinar Karsiyaka, BK Ventspils and EWE Baskets Oldenburg) assured themselves passage to the Last 16 round, while four clubs were eliminated with 0-4 records. The hot game of the day was the JDA Dijon-Gaz Metan Medias, where an unbeaten club fell to a squad that picked up their first win on the season. Wednesday’s action has two undefeated clubs, Telekom Baskets Bonn and Krasnye Krylia, looking to join the Last 16 party with their fourth wins on the season.
Group A
ETHA – KRKA, 59:74
ETHA saw their Last 16 aspirations disappear with a 15-point defeat at the hands of KRKA. ETHA remains unbeaten at 0-4, while KRKA sits in second, tied with Tofas SC at 2-2.
Top Scorers:
ETHA: D. Poole 13; D. Cup 12; T. Downey 11.
KRKA: E. Muric 19; S. Pavic 16; U. Lucic 11.
Pinar Karsiyaka – Tofas SC, 78:56
Pinar treated the 1,115 fans that attended this week 4 contest to witness them clinch a Last 16 spot with a solid win over Tofas SC, 78:56. The win keeps Pinar undefeated at 4-0, while Tofas drops to 2-2 and tied with KRKA at second in Group A.
Top Scorers:
Pinar Karsiyaka: R. Dixon 16; A. Aminu 14; U. Sonkol 11.
Tofas SC: S. Burtt 12; C. Altintig 10.
Group B
CSU Asesoft Ploiesti – Joensuun Kataja, 67:80
Joensuun Kataja improved their EuroChallenge record to 2-2 to keep in the race for a Last 16 spot with a 67:80 road victory over CSU Asesoft Ploiesti. Asesoft drops their record to 0-4 and is officially eliminated from possibly moving on. Joensuun used the middle two quarters to earn the win, outscoring their hosts 34:47 in quarters two and three, while ending scoring in Q1 and Q4 in a tie 33:33. Jermaine Flowers had the hot hand for Joensuun, tallying 28 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the win.
Top Scorers:
CSU Asesoft Ploiesti: D. Hargrove 17; R. Nyakundi 16; C. Burlacu 10.
Joensuun Kataja: J. Flowers 28; P. Virtanen 17.
Group C
Tampereen Pyrintö – Södertälje Kings, 73:65
Tampereen Pyrinto earned their first EuroChallenge win at home with an 8:1 run late in the contest to come-from-behind and pull into a standings tie with guest club Sodertalje. The hosts got out to a 38:26 lead at half time, but squandered their advantage with a 17:26 third quarter. With 7:17 to play they found themselves down by three, 57:60. After trading baskets for a couple of minutes the scoreboard read 65:64, which is when the hosts took control of the game and finished off scoring with an 8:1 run to earn the 73:65 win. The results tie the two clubs for third place at 1-3. They both have remaining games with undefeated BK Ventspils and second place Norrkoping to determine the second spot as Ventspils has locked up one of the top two spots.
Top Scorers:
Tampereen Pyrintö: L. Ulmer 24; D. Williams 19.
Södertälje Kings: D. Pita 21; K. Simms 16; T. Bizaca 15.
Norrköping Dolphins – BK Ventspils, 51:69
BK Ventspils grabbed their seat that the Last 16 table with a sound 51:69 win over second place club Norrkoping. The game was tight until the final quarter, where the visitors outscored their hosts 8:21 to assure themeselves a place in the next round.
Top Scorers:
Norrköping Dolphins: O.Ayuba 10.
BK Ventspils: S. Valters 15; D Sims 13.
Group D
Tartu Rock – Khimik, 94:77
Tartu Rock erased a 41:49 early third quarter deficit with a 28:13 quarter enroute to their second EuroChallenge win and a 2-2 record on the second. The loss also puts Khimik at 2-2, but the 17-point margin in this contest gives Tartu Rock the tie breaker should it be needed.
Top Scorers:
Tartu Rock: I. Nelyubov 16; J. Ingram 16; T. Eichfuss 13.
Khimik: S. Popov 13; W. Deane 13; D. Joseph 12; S. Lesic 10.
JDA Dijon – Gaz Metan Medias, 83:79
In the game of the week so far, JDA Dijon picked up their first win in EuroChallenge competition and handed Gaz Metan Medias their first loss in the process, 83:79. The game started out looking like Gaz Metan was going to run all over their hosts as they racked up a nine-point margin in the first quarter by outscoring Dijon 17:26. Dijon fought back in the second quarter to cut the five off the deficit winning the second 10, 24:19, to head into the dressing room down 41:45. In the third, JDA grabbed the advantage by putting together two separate 6:0 scoring runs enroute to a 21:14 win in the third quarter to head into the last frame up by three, 62:59. Dijon built an eight-point margin with 3:59 to play, only to have the Group leaders storm back to within two after a 6:0 run of their own to get to 74:72 with 2:17 remaining. The hosts pounded the ball inside with a dunk and a lay-up in the last two minutes as well as hitting three of four free throws in the last 11 seconds to earn the upset win in front of 3,000 fans.
Top Scorers:
JDA Dijon: T. Campbell 24; A. Harris 23; Z. Moss 12.
Gaz Metan Medias: A. Mladenovic 29; D. Mitchell 19; S. Dundjerski 13.
Group E
Paris Levallois – BCMU Pitesti, 84:70
Paris Levallois stayed tied for the top spot in Group E with a 14-point win over winless BCMU Pitesti, 84:70. The loss eliminates Pitesti from Last 16 hopes, while a win next week over Mon-Hainaut will give Paris a seat at the Last 16 table. Paris got out to a six-point advantage after winning the first quarter 24:18, but their guests pounded them in the second 12:23 to take a four-point lead into the locker room at the half, 37:41. The hosts owned the second half, outscoring Pitesti 47:29 to earn the win and move one step closer to the next round.
Top Scorers:
Paris Levallois: S. May 22; J. Cox 18; A. Diot 17; J. Williams 12.
BCMU Pitesti: M. Jones 16; A. Gennie 15; D. Kinloch 14; P. Barac 14.
Okapi Aalstar – Mons-Hainaut, 97:84
Okapi Aalstar did their part to keep things interesting in Group E with a 97:84 win over Mons-Hainaut at home. The last two weeks are going to be a dog fight in the group as three teams are separated by one game. Okapi grabbed a 48:39 lead at the half and cruised to the win in the second half, never really being challenged after a 27:26 first quarter. The win puts Okapi Aalstar at 3-1, while Mons-Hainaut drops to 2-2.
Top Scorers:
Okapi Aalstar: S. Clark 25; R. Thompson 19; D. Raivio 13; C. Young 13; T. Dreesen 11.
Mons-Hainaut: J. Bostic 20; J. Wallace 19; M. Randle 17.
Group F
Körmend – BC Timisoara, 97:86
The Kormend squad pulled themselves from the brink of elimination in the EuroChallege with a come-from-behind win over Timisoara and put the club square in the middle of the hunt for the Last 16. Being down 58:70 late in the third quarter they rallied with a 15:0 run and then kept pounding on their guests, winning the last quarter 36:16 to come out with a critical home win, 97:86. The win puts both teams at 1-3 with two games left and one game behind Szolnoki Olaj KK at 2-2. Both Kormend and Timisoara have match ups with Szolonoki and top team Ewe Baskets (4-0) remaining.
Top Scorers:
Körmend: M. Shaw 33; Z. Buljan 29 (10 rebounds); C. Ferencz 19.
BC Timisoara: R. Sarovic 19; Z. Jovanovic 15 (6 assists); D. Johnson 14; D. Archie 13; M. Derasimovic 13.
Szolnoki Olaj – EWE Baskets Oldenburg, 67:85
EWE Baskets Oldenburg grabbed the first seat that the Last 16 table from Group F with a convincing win over second-place club Szolnoki. The win kept EWE undefeated at 4-0, while Szolnoki drops to 2-2 and only one game up on the last two teams, BC Timisoara and Kormend, both at 1-3.
Top Scorers:
Szolnoki Olaj: B. Gay 12; B. Simon 10.
EWE Baskets Oldenburg: D. Joyce 15; R. Paulding 14; K. Wysocki 13; A. Chubb 11; R. Burrell 10.
Group G
Tsmoki-Minsk – BCM Gravelines, 67:83
Gravelines moved themselves one step closer to a Last 16 spot with a 67:83 win over Tsmoki-Minsk in front of a crowd of 5,000 in Belarus. The game was tight with Tsmoki holding a two-point lead going into the final 10, but the French squad opened the last quarter with an 0:10 run and never let the advantage drop to below 11 for the rest of the game. The win keeps Gravelines at the top of Group G with a 3-1 record while Tsmoki-Minsk falls to 2-2, tied with SLUC Nancy Basket for second place with two games to play.
Top Scorers:
Tsmoki-Minsk: P. Ulyanko 19; A. Lashkevich 11.
BCM Gravelines: A. Mbaye 16; Y. Bokolo 14; D. Noel 12; D. Buycks 12.
SLUC Nancy – Apollon, 87:69
SLUC Nancy moved into a tie for second in Group G with a decisive win, 87:69 over Apollon, along with the Tsmoki-Minsk loss to Gravelines Tuesday. Nancy put the game away in the first half outscoring their visitors 50:27 going into the intermission. Over 5,000 fans packed in to see the club even their EuroChallege record to 2-2 with two games to play and a Last 16 spot still within reach.
Top Scorers:
SLUC Nancy: K. Grank 15; B. Merriex 15; M. Sommerville 12; S. Diabate 11.
Apollon: G. Robinson 18; B. Brown 17; M. Jefferson 10; G. Pantouris 10.
Group H
Armia – Hapoel Holon, 72:79
Hapoel Holon came from down by as much as 12 points in their road contest with Armia to pick up their third EuroChallenge victory and assure at least second place in Group H with the possibility of a tie if Telekom Baskets loses to Antwerp Wednesday. Armia had a 10-point advantage early in the third, but Hapoel ran off eight unanswered to cut the gap to two. Armia couldn’t get any farther away that four, until three sets of free throws were split and J. Dyson dropped in a triple at the buzzer for the guests to move to a two-point advantage with a quarter to play. At the 3:25 mark a three-ball by Armia’s G. Gamqrelidze brought the hosts to within one at 68:69, but a seven point run put the game out of reach. The lost keeps Armia winless at 0-4, while Hapoel improves to 3-1 with the one loss to unbeaten Telekom by seven points. They play them at home on Dec. 5th. Jerome Dyson led all scorers with 31 for Hapoel.
Top Scorers:
Armia: C. Millage 23; L. Wilson 20; G. Gamqrelidze 12; M. Faison 10.
Hapoel Holon: J. Dyson 31; F. Hassell 19; L. Hill 11.